“Leaving on the Next Plane”: Yearning for a Vacation, Shaquille O’Neal Reveals ‘Caribbean Plans’ with Charles Barkley

Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and the rest of Inside the NBA crew were eagerly waiting for a vacation after the Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics ended last week. Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith had already got their wish fulfilled, but Shaq and Chuck were held back by NBA TV for Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals.

After the Heat defeated the Nuggets 111-108 in Game 2, O’Neal, Barkley, Grant Hill, and Matt Winer interviewed Heat star Gabe Vincent, who had a team-high 23 points. Shaq asked him whether he and his team were tired of being doubted.

Shaq: “Are you guys a little upset that you’re not getting the respect that you deserve?”

Gabe Vincent: “I speak for my whole team when I say we don’t give a damn. We just want to get 4 wins. We don’t give a damn about none of the other stuff.” 🔥😤pic.twitter.com/rtW1CXjsRU

Vincent left his interviewers speechless after saying that he really doesn’t care what people have to say about their team. The Heat star also turned out to be the last player that Chuck and Shaq interviewed before their vacation started.

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are finally off to the Bahamas

As the countdown began for Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley to disappear, the former started singing “It is so hard to say goodbye” again, but this time with, “I’ll be leaving on the next plane, I don’t know when I’ll be back again.”

The clip of Shaq and Chuck enjoying their final moments of work had the energy of school kids patiently waiting for the final bell before summer vacation to ring. The duo started singing and dancing as a staff member handed them coconut drinks and colorful holiday wreaths.

Shaq has been waiting for a vacation for weeks now. He even discussed on The Big Podcast how much he hated the fact that they will still have to go to the sets when the Heat could have put a stop to it in 4 games if they wanted to, but instead took 7.

Shaq rubbed salt on Grant Hill’s wounds before leaving

As the NBA TV’s regular crew bid goodbye to Shaq and Chuck, the Big Diesel made sure to flaunt his vacation to Grant Hill and Matt Winer before leaving.

After the grind these analysts put in to cover games and do the pre-and post-game shows, irrespective of the time or day of the week, they deserve the long vacation they get, as much as the players do. In fact, their vacation celebration provided fans with a fresh dose of entertainment as the NBA Finals near a thrilling conclusion.