“Come On Shaq, That Was Your Thing”: Nikola Jokic Calls Out Shaquille O’Neal After Kenny Smith Breaks Out ‘Perfect’ Serbian

The Golden State Warriors experienced a disappointing loss at the hands of Nikola Jokic and the reigning NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets. A tie-game at 127 was over in an instant when Nikola Jokic shot a 39-foot heave, banking it in as the time ran out on the clock, awarding the Nuggets with a sweet victory. The Joker’s heroics were commemorated when he joined on to join the NBA on TNT crew post-game. What surprised Jokic during the interview was co-host Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith breaking out flawless Serbian.

 

Not only was the Serbian basketball phenom impressed but he also went on to compliment Smith on his Serbian. The Joker then went on to call out co-host Shaquille O’Neal, who had earlier tried to speak to the 2xMVP in his native language but failed. 

“Come on Shaq, that was your thing.”

The rest of the crew went on to talk about his phenomenal outing and even discussed his past performances as well. When asked if they (Denver Nuggets) are chasing someone in the league, Jokic’s response to chasing their previous year’s record had the entire panel impressed.

As the NBA on TNT crew was signing off, Shaq once again attempted to try his hand by addressing Jokic in Serbian. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Lakers legend, he once again mistook Jokic’s native language and ended up trying to talk to him in Russian once again.

Nikola Jokic instantly had a flux of emotions, disappointed at first but eventually laughed it off as O’Neal tried to save face on national television. Jokic exclaimed,

“No it’s not Shaq. Come on brother, it’s the second time.”

What made it even more embarrassing was the fact that this wasn’t the first time Shaquille O’Neal made this mistake. Moreover, he got called out by Jokic once again over his blunder.

Shaquille O’Neal makes it three in a row with Nikola Jokic

Shaquille O’Neal has always had Nikola Jokic in his good books, praising his game despite his unorthodox playing style. But when it comes to conversing with Jokic in his native language, Shaq has yet to learn the ropes as he made this same error once before as well.

Luckily for the four-time NBA champion, Jokic never took his ignorance to heart but has been appreciative of O’Neal trying to step out of his comfort zone to connect with him instead.

This interaction between Nikola Jokic and Shaquille O’Neal makes it the third time that The Big Aristotle has had the same misunderstanding. Back in 2021, Shaq tried to compliment Jokic in Russian, assuming he was from Russia.

That was the first time The Joker had to correct Shaq. It is 2024 now and the same saga continues. Hopefully, O’Neal learns his mistake now, given that he’s had the same slip while airing on national television thrice.