“He Just Blew Out a Tire”: Shaquille O’Neal Losing His Shoes While Racing Kenny Smith Leaves Fans in Splits

Prateek Singh | 30/04/2025
Shaquille O'Neal (L), Kenny Smith (R)

​The tradition of racing to the big board on Inside the NBA has become a staple of the show’s lighthearted antics. It began as a playful jab at Kenny Smith, known for his leisurely stroll to the screen during game analysis. Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal then started sprinting to the board to tease Kenny, and made it a recurring gag.

Over time, this lighthearted competition has led to numerous memorable moments. In one instance, Shaq’s enthusiasm got the better of him when he slapped the LED screen too hard, causing it to glitch and break.

The big fella produced another viral moment during tonight’s halftime coverage of the Clippers-Nuggets game. Kenny Smith talked about Russell Westbrook and praised him for his confidence. He said, “Russell Westbrook is the definition of confidence. Confidence is the lack of fear and the things that you’re great at, then you’re confident.”

Midway through his sentence, the race to the big board started, and Smith sprinted toward the back of the set. His competition, Shaq, tried his best to beat Smith but was betrayed by his shoes. Shaq’s shoes came off as soon as he stood up, prohibiting him from catching up to the Jet. The crew added insult to injury by mocking Shaq for losing the race.

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1917421061190160770

When the clip made its way to the internet, fans were in splits. One fan wrote, “[Shaq] didnt lose he just blew out a tire during the race.”

Other than the fact that Shaq lost the race because of his shoes, his toes were shown on people’s screens. That opened the floodgates for fans to troll the big fella for the same. One fan wrote, “Shaq feet look like two expired chocolate eclairs.”

https://twitter.com/its_nemesis_/status/1917421151829066089

A major revelation made during the segment was that Shaq doesn’t wear socks with his shoes. The Inside crew is notorious for missing important accessories from their attire, such as Chuck not wearing underwear, but it was Shaq’s time to be trolled for it. One fan wrote, “Where can I get some of those invisible socks Shaq is wearing?”

One fan showed his support for Smith, claiming that Shaq should’ve known he’d lose to the Jet. The fan wrote, “They don’t call him The Jet for nothing!! Shaq need to sit down.”

The Nuggets won Game 5 against the Clippers and now have a 3-2 lead in the series.

Post Edited By: Sameen Nawathe
Kenny Smith Shaquille O'Neal

About the author

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Prateek Singh

Prateek is a Senior NBA Writer for The SportsRush. He has over 900 published articles under his name. Prateek merged his passion for writing and his love for the sport of basketball to make a career out of it. Other than basketball, he is also an ardent follower of the UFC and soccer. Apart from the world of sports, he has followed hip-hop religiously and often writes about the origins, evolution, and the biggest stars of the music genre.

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