“Good Game or Bad, He’s Black”: Shaquille O’Neal Has a Hilarious Blooper While Discussing Klay Thompson’s Return

The Chase Center was buzzing on Klay Thompson’s return as Thompson stepped onto the floor amidst loud cheers and applause from his teammates, both current and former, and an arena filled with Dubs fans. The energy seems to have captivated the Inside the NBA crew too as they appeared on the show wearing captain hats.

Shaquille O’Neal had a hilarious slip of the tongue while talking about Thompson’s return on air. He said, “Good game or bad game, he’s Black. I mean, he’s back.”

Kenny Smith immediately utilized the opportunity to troll Shaq, “He is Black? He is Black.”

However, the conversation soon shifted to how the hats don’t fit Shaq and Charles Barkley’s big heads after the latter pointed out that the Diesel looks like a ‘fool’ with the hat on.

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What Shaq really wanted to say before his gaffe was that there was a lot of pressure on Thompson regarding his return to the Warriors’ home arena. His relationship with the franchise had turned sour before he left earlier this year.

Shaq wanted the four-time NBA Champion to finish his career with the same franchise. However, he understands that it’s a business at the end of the day, and the decision to trade Thompson was made in the best interest of all parties involved. But the NBA legend still expected Klay to play hard and be received as villain.

So he was pleasantly surprised that the crowd greeted Thompson with an applause.

Update: Thompson scored 22 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 7-17 from the field and 6-12 from the three-point line. The Warriors won the game 120-117.

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley argued over Klay Thompson’s return

Shaq added that the warm reception from the fans must’ve eased the pressure on Thompson to perform. He said, “The way he was greeted tonight, it actually makes it a no-pressure game. They love him, they miss him, they appreciate him. Four-time champion. Just go out there and have fun.”

Shaq believes that if Thompson was booed by the fans, then it would’ve been a matchup where he’d need to perform to shut down the haters. So, being loved in the Bay area works in his favor in his first game here. Barkley, on the other hand, had a different perspective on it.

He said, “I disagree with that. I think it’s a big game for Klay. This is the first time he’s back. This is a big game for him personally. Because he was insulted.” Chuck reminded the crew that the Warriors didn’t entertain his contract extension demands which made him leave the franchise in the first place.