The easy-going personality of Shaquille O’Neal always catches the eyes of the NBA followers. The 7’1 star often takes to Instagram to convey his support for several matters further displaying his cooperative nature. His recent endeavors showcased a similar instance as the 51-year-old publicly backed his Inside the NBA colleague Ernie Johnson.
Advertisement
Shaq shared a post that openly praised the veteran sportscaster as a likable character in the NBA world. With the caption, “The only guy in basketball world that has 0 haters,” it captured the positive reputation of the 67-year-old. It caught the attention of O’Neal as he shared it from his Instagram story to put forward a similar stance.
Diesel’s public backing of the TNT host proved the respectful nature of the NBA’s personality. His open-mindedness and unbiased attitude as a television voice have made him a famous figure in the league’s circuit. With decades of experience under his belt, Ernie has garnered applause even from his fellow broadcasters.
A recent instance displayed precisely that as First Take‘s Stephen A. Smith defended Johnson while covering the in-season tournament. In a crossover between TNT and ESPN, Charles Barkley kept interrupting Ernie which eventually annoyed Smith. “Chuck’s over there interrupting Ernie. Let Ernie speak and complete his sentence,” the 56-year-old mentioned. “Stephen A., welcome to my world,” Ernie replied implying how he constantly had to handle the outspoken former players on the show.
It sparked an exchange between Smith and Barkley before the latter mocked Johnson’s “ugly head”. Following that, the experienced broadcaster became the center of attention as he turned towards the crowd pointing towards his head. The audience loved that gesture as the noise went up by quite a few folds right before they started chanting Ernie’s name.
Shaquille O’Neal supported Ernie Johnson for the right reasons
EJ has been hosting the show since 1990 cementing his place as an iconic figure in the business. Two decades later Shaq joined Inside the NBA in 2011. Thus, in a way, Ernie held the fort way too long with a revolving supporting cast around him for years. So, his status in the market is well-earned following years of hard work and consistency.
Despite having to work with stalwarts of the NBA such as O’Neal and Charles, Johnson has managed his job brilliantly till now. While sharing insights on the success of the show, Ernie once said, “So it’s up to me to try to bring out the best in these three guys”. It summarized his reusability as the host while shedding light on the egoless nature of the sportscaster.
The lovers of the game of basketball thus acknowledge Ernie’s contributions to the sport. His years of endeavors have earned him a spot in the 2023 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, giving completion to his achievements.
