Ernie Johnson’s ‘Boondocks’ reference had Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley in splits on ‘Inside the NBA’

Ernie Johnson impressed Shaquille O’Neal and the ‘Inside the NBA’ crew by reciting his own ‘Boondocks’ line to perfection. 

Ernie Johnson is wildly underrated for how good of a host he is for ‘Inside the NBA’. The spotlight usually gets put on both Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley due to their hot takes and overall impeccable sense of humor but Ernie needs to have a ton of respect put on his name for being just as iconic on the show as the two basketball goliaths. 

While Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith plays the role of instigator to perfection, Ernie Johnson has the oh-so difficult task of being the moderator and ‘cleaning up’ after Kenny’s instigation between Shaq and Chuck leads to a complete derailment of the segment that they were supposed to conduct. 

Of course, Ernie is much more than that as he has his fair share of one-liners that entertain NBA fans much more than a lot of the segments that NBAonTNT conjures up for them.

Also read: “Charles Barkley really paid $1000 to cut a man’s bun off”: NBAonTNT crew hilariously chop off an employee’s man-bun off despite Shaq warning against it

Ernie Johnson hits Shaq and company with a ‘Boondocks’ reference. 

A running gag that isn’t all too much of a gag is one that revolves around Ernie Johnson being extremely proficient in in his knowledge of hip-hop. Whether it’s knowing artists’ songs or giving Miami’s Rick Ross a shoutout on national television, Johnson’s always got something up his sleeve that leaves fans bewildered as to how he even knows these things. 

Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith, and Charles Barkley tend to quiz him out of the blue on several things around hip-hop and black culture and Ernie’s right on the money at all times.  

In a segment many years ago, Shaq asked him, “If I tell you, ‘Put twenty sixes on them thangs’ you know what I’m talking about?” To everybody’s surprise, Ernie immediately said, “You’re talking to me because I stack paper to the ceiling and ride on 24-inch chrome.”

For those not in the know, this is a reference to a caricature of his on the animated show, ‘Boondocks’. In this episode, they played a snippet of a make-believe ‘Inside the NBA’ segment where their Ernie Johnson says that same line said by the real Ernie on television.

Also read: “Shaq who do they mistake you for? Shrek?”: When Charles Barkley had NBAonTNT crew members in splits after roasting his appearance