The Christmas mood has taken over the Inside the NBA as a segment from tonight’s broadcast saw the crew talk about their plans for the holidays, especially in the gift-giving department. With Shaq-a-Claus Shaquille O’Neal on set, it was inevitable that the panel would talk about Shaq’s notorious gifting habits. In the hopes of putting an end to the big fella’s shenanigans, Charles Barkley told the Lakers legend that he’d prefer getting money from him for Christmas.
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Kenny Smith started the conversation by giving Shaq props for being Shaq-a-Claus for kids. Every year before Christmas, Shaq sends gifts to several underserved kids across the country to help them enjoy the festive spirit. However, when it comes to giving gifts to his TNT buddies, Shaq is not so generous.
The Jet called out Shaq on the matter, “You do them so much differently than you do us. You give them real gifts. You give us gifts that you only endorse and that you get for free.”
Barkley also joined in, saying Shaq only gifts free products from brands he has ownership in, like Icy Hot. Although the big fella tried to defend himself by stating that he had to pay money even for the products he endorsed, the crew wasn’t willing to hear him out. They were tired of seeing Shaq’s face on their X-mas presents.
After Smith’s complaint, Adam Lefkoe asked Chuck what would he like from Shaq as his Christmas present. The NBA legend said, “Well, cash is always king.”
We’ll now have to wait to see if Shaq-a-claus fulfills the Chuckster’s wish. But Shaq’s habit of giving terrible gifts to his friends isn’t restricted to Christmas. During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Barkley said that he wasn’t expecting a great gift from Shaq on his 60th birthday as well for this exact reason.
He said, “That’s the only thing that bothers me about Shaq. He never gives you like an original gift.” Chuck said that he always receives a watch or clothes or something else that Shaq endorses. Despite his issues with Shaq’s gifts, Barkley acknowledged that the big fella does a great job with the kids.
Charles Barkley applauds Shaquille O’Neal’s commitment to being Santa Claus
Putting jokes aside for a minute, Barkley gave Shaq props for doing good work for the kids. He said, “I think it’s amazing that you do that big fella…To see the joy on these kids’ faces, man. Every kid, I just hope y’all have a great Christmas. It’s really about you guys, the young girls and young men.”
Shaq brought his 23rd annual Shaq-a-Claus event to Wesley Lakes Elementary School in McDonough, Georgia with the help of his foundation. This event was to help give gifts and other essentials to 600 kids from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. Shaq said, “If I controlled the world, every kid would wake up with five to 10 toys. I just want them to be happy.”
Despite being the face of the drive, Shaq said that the credit for this should be given to his mother Lucille O’Neal because she came up with the idea years ago. The only thing Shaq is willing to take credit for is the fact that he is just trying to make his mother proud.
