Shaq reflects on 13 years with Inside the NBA, crediting the show's success to being himself rather than using fancy commentary. He discusses the uncertain future if Turner loses broadcast rights, shares jealousy over Junior Bridgeman's wealth as motivation, and recounts a near-fight with Charles Barkley that their mothers stopped.
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Welcome to the brand new Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any of our content. Last couple questions. You, shit, it's been what, 13 years now?
Yeah, 13.
You took on another role in what you've been doing at TNT with the Inside the NBA crew. What did you first think you was getting yourself into as opposed to what it's turned into?
I wanted it to be the Black Brian Gumbel and use big words and do all that. And TNT said, "Motherfucker, we'll fire your ass tomorrow. Be you." And I think that's what makes our show the best show out there. G14 classification. Barkley Hall of Famer, Shaq Hall of Famer, Kenny, 2-time champion, Ernie, best analyst in the world.
Yes.
But you guys can be yourself. And we make fun of people. Crack jokes. We do a lot of stuff because you also have to realize after watching two games, good games or bad games, the fans that, that are real people don't have to work in the morning. If we're going to keep you up past your bedtime, at least we want to do is entertain you. And I think the reason why they hired you, you're very intelligent.
Thank you.
And you're definitely one of us. You know how to crack jokes. You and Charles are also— y'all have me rolling. So welcome to the team, and I'm glad you're here. But I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. But TK, he was a producer there, he was like, we don't want you for all that shit. Just talk about your experiences, talk about what you know. And he's like, he said, people know you know what you're talking about because you did it. Because you did it. And so they just, you know, told me to just, you know, be myself. I wish I could talk more. Charles is good at fucking talking. And then when you pose the fucking rotate, he'll say something. That's why I snapped on his ass. I said, yo, motherfucker. 1, 2, 3, not 1, 2, and back to motherfucking 1. He like cutting motherfuckers off repeating this stuff. Like, bro, you said that shit, I've been here 12 years, you say the same shit every year. Chris Paul's the greatest lead, motherfucker, we heard that. Say something different.
That's funny. We had Chuck on the show a couple years ago and I asked him, y'all get into these heated arguments, do you ever really get pissed off?
No. Because it's the perfect story. I'm like you, I will fight you and do whatever. So one time this motherfucker, and like, I never had no problem with Charles. It's the same way you looked up to me, I looked up to Charles. Charles let me know it was okay to elbow a motherfucker in the mouth. My father used to tell me, you need to be like Barkley and knock him off. So in college and even in the league. So we playing in Houston one day, Charles is older. The motherfucker hit me in the head with the ball. I can't let that shit slide. I can't go back to any barbershop, any motherfucking crib, nothing. Now I gotta knock this motherfucker out. But the mistake it was I made was I leaned too far to the left and he went that way. I wanted to throw the left because I wanted him to come inside. I was going to try to knock that motherfucker's head off to let him know like, hey, I ain't one of these motherfuckers you can throw the ball at. So bro, by the time I got to the motherfucking tunnel, Uncle Jerome handed me the phone and I'm like, "Hello?" And it was my mom and Charles' mom on the phone. It's like, "Y'all shouldn't be doing that." I was like, "Who is this?" She's like, "My mom." "Chuck, this is Charles' mom." So you know when it's moms, even though I'm mad at him, I ain't gonna be like, "Fuck this." "Yes, ma'am." Y'all stop that shit. I done already talked to Charles. Y'all hug that shit out. And you know, she was not ghetto, but she was hard. She was like, "Y'all cut that shit out. Y'all don't need to be fighting." Mama dropped that final order. I'm not gonna go against my mama ever. So I'm walking down the hall, he walking down the hall. I'm looking at him like, "Motherfucker, even though my mama said that, you make a move, I'm gonna knock you out." So he started laughing and I started laughing. And then I finally see my mom, I said, "What was that about?" She said, "Me and Charles' mom been best friends for 30 years." Crazy. Yeah. So one time I seen them playing cards, it's the same shit me and Charles do. You don't know I'm playing no motherfucking spades, like they, but it's respectful. So even though we argue, I know as a man you can't disrespect another man.
Yeah.
I think like men that have the same principles, you can talk to each other same way. Like my little guy over there, that's my cousin. We grew up together. We fight every fucking day, but we don't disrespect each other.
Yeah.
And the fact that we don't disrespect each other, you can say what you gotta say, I say what I gotta say. So, you know, I'm never mad at him to the point where I wanna beat him up. 'Cause one, my mom would be upset. His mom passed away. She was so nice to my mom. She would be upset. So even if he says something crazy, I know he not disrespecting me. I know it's just Charles. I'll just let it go.
Before we get outta here, obviously, as you know, I think, you know, being one of the most successful businessmen to come through the NBA, you know, we see Junior Bridgeman, Magic, you know, and you have put yourself in that category, you guys. So you understand business. You guys have had, and I'm honored to grace the stage with you all whenever I get to, the opportunity. But what you guys have built at Inside the NBA has been special. Business is business. And there's a TV deal coming up with the possibility of Turner not, you know, having broadcasting rights. That is a possibility. If that's to happen, everybody wants to know what happens with this crew. You know, you guys, you four guys, like, it's the premier show when it comes to NBA basketball. What happens with this group from your perspective? How do you see that?
I don't like to think left, which is negative. I don't like to think right. I like to think what it is. So until we hear what it is, I don't know. I'm glad I have different options to fall back on, but, you know, when I go left, it just, it starts to get sad. Like, damn, no Ernie, no Chuck, no Kenny. Then when I think right, it's a lot of other possibilities. So great possibilities. But right now I'm gonna just stay in the middle. And you brought up a name, Junior Bridgeman. Another guy who I'm jealous of. I remember one time I'm walking through the airport and I saw the 10 richest athletes. It was a Time article. I was like, "Motherfucker, I'm number 2." I ain't fucking with Mike, but shit, I'm number motherfucker 2. Magic may be number 2, so fuck it, I'm number 3. So I look at the list, I'm like, "Mike, fuck. Magic, fuck." And then Junior Bridgeman, 600. I'm like, "Who the fuck is Junior Bridgeman?" So I'm like, $800 million. So now instead of being envious, it was like, it's just like jealousy motivates me, brother. Been like that since I'm a kid. Like, you see a kid, like, always tell my son, when you go to these AAU tournaments, find out who's who. Make sure you go at them. So like, for me, I was always behind Kenny Anderson. So when I went to the motherfucking McDonald's All-American Game, I met Dick Vitale. I said, hello, Mr. Dick Vitale. He's like, and you are? So this motherfucker don't know who I am. Oh shit. And everybody see sucking off Kenny and Jimmy Jackson, all these motherfuckers. I said, okay, motherfucker. So I told Mr. Bartell, I said, you don't know me yet, but tomorrow at 12:30, the whole world gonna know my name. So that shit motivated me. So I'm looking at Junior Beard, I'm like, fuck, this motherfucker on all this shit. And I just said, I just, it just makes me, makes me work harder because we like stories. I like to open that Time magazine and see Shaq, 2, 3 billion, like So I'm not there yet, but I think I'm working, you know, to a way to get there. So I just want to tell athletes, it's okay to be jealous at times, but just make sure you use it as motivation and not hate.
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