Shaquille O’Neal Bets on Nets to Beat Knicks, Loses ‘a Stack’ to Adam Lefkoe on TNT

Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t hate the Knicks; that’s the notion he tried to establish on TNT’s Pregame Show, even though he didn’t do a good job at it. After declaring that the Knicks wouldn’t win an NBA title this year, the Diesel went on to bet $1000 on the Nets beating the New York side while doing the Halftime Report.

At the time the bet was placed, the Knicks were leading 59-51. To Shaq’s credit, the Nets were playing really well and trying their best to compete with their crosstown rivals.

Before the start of the second half, TNT host Adam Lefkoe asked the panel if it was “a Knicks runaway or the Nets fighting for their possible upset win.” Even though he wanted to take Candace Parker’s opinion first, Shaq jumped in to give his prediction. He said, “Nets by six.”

The big man sounded very confident about his prediction for the game, so Lefkoe capitalized on the opportunity. “Bet it,” he said.

However, Shaq’s confidence shook Lefkoe’s belief for a while, who said, “I instantly regret that, but I’m excited for it.”

Shaq and Lefkoe put “a stack” on the line and patiently waited for the final buzzer. The Knicks ended up claiming a four-point victory over the Nets.

Despite their valiant effort in the fourth quarter, the Nets couldn’t overcome the second-quarter deficit and lost the game 95-99. Shaq has a reputation for holding his end of the bargain. Even though he mostly pays back in ‘Shaq bucks,’ which is a fake currency with his face printed on it, in principle, he pays his bet.

It will be interesting to see if the big fella will pull out real money this time.

As mentioned earlier, Shaq doesn’t think very highly of the Knicks. On the Pregame Show, he said, “The truth is I don’t get hype over just winning games. I get hype over winning championships.”

Although the Knicks are the third seed in the East with a 29-16 record, Shaq thinks that simply winning games doesn’t make them a great team.