Shaquille O’Neal knows how to steal the spotlight, even when he’s just heading to the bathroom. On Monday night during TNT’s Inside the NBA broadcast, the Hall of Famer suddenly popped up from his chair and speed-walked off set, cutting into Kenny Smith’s analysis of Kawhi Leonard mid-sentence. No explanation was needed. The urgency said it all. Smith, caught off guard, called out, “You alright, big fella?” but Shaq just motioned for the crew to keep talking, clearly needing to handle something more urgent.
The moment sent the entire Inside the NBA crew into fits of laughter. Charles Barkley immediately joked, “Hey, take some matches with you,” while Kenny Smith added, “It’s that olive oil you been drinking.” Shaq’s recent health kick, which included drinking olive oil to help “clean his gut,” was well-documented among fans, and based on how fast he sprinted off the set, it seemed like it finally caught up with him.
As expected, social media exploded within minutes. Even though Shaq returned to the desk acting calm and trying to joke it off, fans weren’t convinced. A slow-motion replay of his hurried exit only made it funnier. One fan tweeted, “Someone’s gotta pee real bad. Lol,” while another posted, “When it’s time, it’s time… wash your hands Shaq! That’s commitment right there!” Some fans even suggested he might not have made it in time, joking, “Olive oil diet is no joke,” hinting that things may have been worse than they looked.
Beyond the jokes, a few fans also expressed concern about the bigger picture — the potential end of Inside the NBA if TNT loses its NBA broadcasting rights. “We are losing Inside the NBA. ESPN is going to destroy this show,” one fan commented, worried about the future of a show known for moments exactly like this one.
Shaq eventually lightened the mood by apologizing directly to the audience. “Sorry about that, America,” he said with a smirk, before blaming Barkley for talking too much and delaying the commercial break. It’s been a chaotic stretch for O’Neal recently. Just one night earlier, he mistakenly announced that former NBA player Billy Ray Bates had passed away, prompting an awkward but necessary on-air correction by Ernie Johnson the next night.
While it might not be Shaq’s most glamorous moment on TV, his live sprint to the bathroom is just another classic, unpredictable memory in Inside the NBA’s long history of viral moments. Fans may never know exactly what happened backstage, but they’ll certainly never forget the night Shaq ran off set — and judging by the reaction online, this hilarious episode will live on for a long time.
