“The Hawk Is Dead”: Shaquille O’Neal Gives Up on Trae Young and Co. After a 14-Point Half-Time Deficit Against Magic

Tonight marks the beginning of the 2025 NBA Play-In tournament. Kicking off the action was the Atlanta Hawks battling the Orlando Magic, a game that the NBA on TNT crew broke down before the broadcast. Shaquille O’Neal was heavily in favor of the Hawks, led by Trae Young, to put a stomping on Orlando and claim the No. 7 spot in the competitive Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, the Diesel may have given ATL the kiss of death.

At the half, the Magic were leading 61-47, outplaying the Hawks in every facet of the game. Orlando was doing it as a team, specifically on the scoring end. Only one player was in double-digits (Wendall Carter Jr.) at the half, while six other players shared 9 points. The Magic did have two more turnovers than Atlanta but heavily outrebounded them, which is what helped cement their lead.

Shaq promised his fellow panelists that he was going to have a Hawk delivered to the studio at halftime. The four-time NBA Champion delivered on his promise but turned it into a bit due to the nature of how the game went for the Hawks in the first half.

“I have some bad news,” he said before asking Charles Barkley to hand him a shoe box. “The Hawk is dead.” Shaq then started singing “How Do I Say Goodbye” by Dean Lewis and then started performing CPR on the clearly fake bird named Harry. He later reiterated, “The Hawk is dead.”

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1912309371532431831?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Ernie Johnson could be heard in the background, reminding Shaq that the deficit for Atlanta was only 14 points and that they had plenty of time to mount a comeback. The Diesel didn’t want to hear it, though. “It doesn’t matter. The Hawk is dead.”

It’s always fun to see Shaq and the guys have fun. However, the bit is potentially serving as a jinx to the Magic. Orlando has gone cold, and the Hawks have cut the lead to only four points in the third quarter. Harry the Hawk may be dead, but Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks are still very much alive.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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