TNT’s iconic talk show, Inside the NBA, will reportedly be headed to ESPN and ABC following the end of this season after the original network lost the rights to the NBA over the summer. The update comes after fans have worried for months that this will be the final season with Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson all together to cover the league. Both Alex Sherman of CNBC and Joe Flint of The Wall Street Journal have confirmed the news as of Saturday night.
“Can confirm WBD has reached a settlement with the NBA,” Sherman wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Inside the NBA will continue and be licensed to ESPN. All the talent will remain TNT Sports employees and can be used in other future shows or projects for warner bros Disocvery. [sic]”
Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, & Charles Barkley Speak During The NBA Awards
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 26: (L-R) Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles. Barkley speak onstage during the 2017 NBA Awards. Live on TNT on June 26, 2017 in New York, New York. 27111_002 (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TNT)
Charles Barkley has been particularly vocal about his disappointment regarding TNT’s loss of the rights to broadcast the NBA. “Clearly, the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning. I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance. TNT matched the money, but the league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future. The NBA didn’t want to piss them off,” he said in a statement from earlier this year, as caught by Bleacher Report. “It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans.”
“Inside The NBA” Will Continue On A New Network
Fans were also very vocally disappointed by the originally presumed loss of Inside The NBA. Now, however, they’re ecstatic. “This is FREAKING MAJOR … but I’m waiting to read the fine print,” one user on X wrote in response to the new report. Another added: “INSIDE THE NBA IS STAYING LETS GOOO.” Check out Alex Sherman’s report about Inside The NBA below.
Can confirm WBD has reached a settlement with the NBA. Inside the NBA will continue and be licensed to ESPN. All the talent will remain TNT Sports employees and can be used in other future shows or projects for warner bros Disocvery
Shaquille O’Neal is a pop culture icon. He’s a Hall of Fame basketball player, a colorful personality, and a fixture in commercials. One thing he is not is a great rapper. Shaq’s celebrity status allowed him to drop several albums in the 1990s. Some of the songs are decent due to production or guest verses, but it was clear Shaquille O’Neal was no wordsmith. That being said, there’s something fascinating about hearing the athlete dig back in the time machine and pull out a collaboration of this magnitude. “No Love Lost” was originally recorded in 1996, which means his features, Nas and Jay-Z, were at creative peaks.
Boy, does it show. “No Love Lost” has a solid instrumental. Nothing face-scrunch-ingly good, but it allows plenty of room for the rappers to do their thing. Shaquille O’Neal goes first and handles the chorus. He’s pretty good, all things considered. He has a few clunkers, but he had the good sense to get out of the way and let the masters go to work. Nas was killing every track he got on in the mid-90s, and “No Love Lost” is no different. His flow is impeccable, and his wordplay is razor sharp. He walks away with the best verse, which is saying a lot considering Reasonable Doubt-era Jay-Z follows him. Hov is great, even if he does still have the Jaz-O influence that he would minimize from his second album on. Old school hip-hop fans are going to love this, plain and simple.
Let us know what you think of this brand-new track, in the comments section down below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.
Nas Steals This Classic Song From Shaquille O’Neal And Hov
Quotable Lyrics:
Fo’ sho’, everything’s for dough now The flow, y’all gotta pay a little mo’ now It’s platinum, nowadays we put the gold down We stepped it up, y’all don’t ever wanna showdown
Shaquille O’Neal is without a doubt the most dominant player the NBA has ever seen. From the moment he stepped onto the floor as a rookie with the Orlando Magic to even his Miami Heat days, there were not many better at his position. The same could be said about his pen game, as he was and still is passionate about his musical career. He was dropping quite a lot of music in the mid to late 1990s, working with some of the best in the booth. The Diesel did take a long break, but lately he has revisited the rapping side of things. Shaquille O’Neal’s SHAQ Pack is here to remind us of his abilities, featuring two songs from 1996.
“Strait Playin’” and “Legal Money” were two popular cuts off You Can’t Stop the Reign, a project that featured plenty of heavy hitters. Some of them included Peter Gunz, DJ Quik, Mobb Deep, and Lord Tariq. The first two land on “Strait Playin’”, a braggadocious, West Coast special. Then, Mobb Deep bring their production expertise and some verses to the table to accompany the standout hook from Tariq. Here, the all-star cast raps about earning dough through reliable means, instead of the dangerous methods that rappers sometimes fall into. There is no telling if Shaq plans on reviving the project and dropping it on streaming. But we are enjoying these blasts from the past.
Leavin’ n****s in standstill, rapper be Queens real We hydro, from Orlando to Queensboro Sit back, watchin’ ESPN on the eighty inch The game’s on, my thug’s on too, me and Nate Dogg The guard jet ski, Shaq ripped the river apart You ain’t been doin’ this, so don’t start
Shaquille O’Neal has fans on social media at a loss after posting an edited photo of Drake’s face over a woman wearing a bikini that the NBA legend was embracing. He soundtracked the post with Metro Booomin’s “BBL Drizzy.” The original picture stems from a trip Shaq took to Spain in 2019, but there are conflicting reports about the identity of the woman. Some outlets have claimed her to be model Danielle Dilworth.
Plenty of Drake fans criticized the NBA legend when DJ Akademiks shared the post on Instagram. “This makes Shaq look way crazier than Drake. Drake is photo shopped. Shaq actually in this pic [laughing emoji]. Look like a pic he get off on,” one user wrote. Another added: “Imagine if Drake did something like this. Just imagine the outrage reaction Drake will get if he did this.”
TORONTO, ONTARIO – SEPTEMBER 08: Shaquille O’Neal aka DJ Diesel performs during RBCxMusic Night with Special Guest DJ Diesel (Shaquille O’Neal) at RBC House Toronto International Film Festival 2023 on September 08, 2023, in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Kennedy Pollard/Getty Images for RBC)
Shaq isn’t the first NBA star to weigh in on the drama surrounding Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Metro Boomin, and more artists. Lamar’s recent concert in Los Angeles, The Pop Out – Ken & Friends, featured several professional basketball players. LeBron James, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and DeMar DeRozan were all in attendance. At the show, Lamar performed several of his Drake diss tracks including the hit song, “Not Like Us.” He finished the concert by running through that single an emphatic five times over.
Check out Shaq’s Instagram post featuring a dig at Drake above. Be on the lookout for further updates on Shaquille O’Neal as well as Drake and Kendrick Lamar on HotNewHipHop.
It looks like the sports legends don’t want to be left out of the 2024 rap war because who would have thought we’d be getting a diss track aimed at Shannon Sharpe from Shaquille O’Neal? In the space of three short days, the two prominent figures in sports media have suddenly begun feuding. It all started when Shannon Sharpe criticized Shaq on his podcast, and O’Neal responded on Instagram. But is there really animosity between the two sportsmen? Or is it all just for show? Here’s how we got here.
The Fuel: Shaq Shares His Opinion On The MVP Title
On Wednesday, May 8, 2024, Shaq and his team announced on TNT’sInside The NBA that Nikola Jokic had won MVP for the third time in four years. After reviewing several of Jokic’s stats, host Ernie Johnson asked Shaq for his opinion. Shaq promptly expressed his dissatisfaction with the voting results. He also suggested that the Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should have won instead.
“Congratulations to Joker, you are the best big man in the league, but … I thought Shai Alexander deserved it,” he said. Moments later, Jokic joined the show, and Shaq spoke with the newly crowned MVP. While he praised Jokic, he reiterated his perspective on who he felt deserved the title. “Joker, as the president of the Big Man alliance, you are the vice president of the Big Man alliance, you know I love you,” Shaq said. “The best player in the league, I wanna congratulate you. But I want you to hear it from me first, I thought that SGA should’ve been the MVP. That’s no disrespect to you, but congratulations.” Jokic took Shaq’s opinion in stride, even cracking a joke amidst the conversation, and all was well and good until Shannon Sharpe joined the conversation.
The Lighter: Shannon Sharpe Accuses Shaq Of Jealousy
The following day, on the new episode of the Nightcap podcast, Shannon Sharpe was discussing the MVP results and called Shaq envious. He then suggested that Shaq had acted out of jealousy since, according to Sharpe, he isn’t among the NBA’s greatest. “I think a part of Shaq, he might not ever admit this, but Shaq sees these guys win these MVPs and is a little envious,” Sharpe said. “I understand that Shaq got four titles and he has three Finals MVPs, but Shaq knows deep down. We should be having the discussion — for G.O.A.T., Shaq’s name is never brought up in the discussion.”
As if that weren’t enough, Shannon Sharpe went on to say that Shaq robbed himself of such titles because he “didn’t take it seriously enough.” He continued, “Shaq should have five MVPs. Shaq should have seven titles. And he sees a guy like Nikola Jokic that’s not as dominant as him and he gets three in four years, and people are talking about him.”
Shaq didn’t take the comments lightly. He took to Instagram later on Thursday night and shared an extensive response to Shannon Sharpe. “You took me sticking up for @shai as jealousy?? shows how smart you are and how you say anything to get clicks. So, here’s some clickbait for you. If you ain’t ranked in the top ten in your profession, then you can’t speak on me… I have it, you don’t, not in my profession. And your goat debate never wanted to be the goat. I wanted to be who you should greet me as THE MOST DOMINANT EVER,” he wrote.
Soon after, Shannon Sharpe made a response to Shaq’s Instagram rant on Friday’s episode of Nightcap. While he clarified that he never said he was as great as Shaq, Sharpe insisted he got where he is through his hard work and consistency. “I’ve never professed that I was as great as Shaq,” he said. “But what I will say, I got what I got because I worked my ass off. Now Shaq has been the one to say it, that he didn’t work as hard, that he didn’t train as hard, he didn’t eat as well as he should have… Yeah, you’re more famous than me. Yeah, you’re more well-known. You’re gonna have way more money than I ever had. But nobody will ever say that I was lazy or I cheated myself. That’s all I got for you, big boy. I ain’t got nothing else for you. I ain’t here to argue with you, I’m not here to debate with you.”
O’Neal released a portion of his diss track aimed at Sharpe later that day on Instagram. The 1-minute 30-second track begins with a collection of soundbites. Shannon Sharpe can be heard discussing how much it bothers Shaq to have only one MVP award. He then comes for Sharpe with rap lines like, “Shannon Sharpe, man, you’re way beneath me / Your whole demeanor is faker than new rapper beefy / You’re soft, before you get fly, you rather tweet me.”
Shaq subsequently expressed that he was done with the beef. “Love y’all, now I’m done with this. I’ll be at the Bahamas crib if anyone needs me,” he wrote. Shannon Sharpe further clarified by posting on X (formerly Twitter) that there is no animosity between him and Shaq. And just like that, it seems the feud between the two legends is dead.
Los Angeles has more eyes on it than usual, which is saying something. The Lakers were just eliminated by the Denver Nuggets, the Clippers are fighting to stay alive against the Dallas Mavs, and the Compton savior, Kendrick Lamar, is duking it out with Canada’s favorite son. Some Angelinos theorized that Lamar dropped “Euphoria” at 8:24 am as a tribute to Laker Kobe Bryant, but the Drake diss was unexpectedly tied to the L.A. Clippers on May 1, when the song played during the TNT halftime show.
The halftime panel featured the usual suspects: Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson. Each of them weighed in on who they thought was going to take game 5 (spoilers, but Dallas prevailed) in predictable fashion. The curveball in the broadcast came when the show cut back from a commercial break and Lamar’s ferocious diss track was blaring over the speakers.
It wasn’t even the soft, melodic intro, either. The TNT halftime show was playing the third beat switch. The one where K. Dot cuts loose and calls Drake a bad father (among other things). It was the last things fan expected to hear, and the same goes for the panelists.
Shaq and Kenny Smith began laughing when they heard the song. “C’mon man,” Smith noted. “Y’all putting us in the middle of the rap beef. [Now] we in the middle.” The Jet then joked that the network needed to play Drake’s “Push Ups” in order to stay neutral. The rest of Inside the broadcast went over without any beef talk, but one of the panel members actually weighed in on the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle previously.
Shaq voiced concern for both artists during an episode of his podcast The Big Podcast With Shaq. “I like competition,” he admitted. “I love it, you know, because we all have egos. We all say we’re the best and the fans want you to prove it.” The NBA legend asserted that things between Drake and Kendrick Lamar would be fine as long as they kept their conflict to the music. “I just hope it don’t go into all that other stuff,” he added. “You know, ‘My crew see your crew and we start fighting and shooting and all that.’”
Given Drake and Dot’s track record, it doesn’t seem like Shaq has anything to worry about. The same goes for the rest of the TNT panel.
T.I. compared the proliferation of hip-hop artists from the new generation to the NBA offering anyone who knows how to pick up a basketball an invite to the league. He explained that the talent on display ranges from “exceptionally dope” to “just alright” during an appearance on Shaquille O’Neal’s podcast, The Big Podcast with Shaq.
“This generation reminds me of every other generation,” he began. “You got some people who are exceptionally dope, and some people who are just alright. You know what I mean? But it’s a lot more of it to choose from now. I feel that, actually, what they’ve done with music is equivalent to if they were to open up the doors of the arena and say, ‘anybody think you can play basketball? Come on out the stands out here to the floor. Here go you a jersey, man. Get in the game.’”
T.I. Performs On The “Legendz Of The Streetz” Tour
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 01: T.I. performs onstage during the Legendz Of The Streetz tour at State Farm Arena on April 01, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Elsewhere in the interview, T.I. discussed Nelly and Usher purchasing ownership stakes in sports teams. While he respects it, he isn’t interested in doing the same. “So many of my contemporaries — like Nelly, you know, he got a piece of Charlotte — and Usher’s got a piece of Cleveland,” he said. “You know, people be asking me, ‘Would I ever do it?’ And I don’t think I would, you know? Because I just can’t see me taking so much of my money, investing it in something, and I can’t do what the f*ck I wanna do. I just can’t imagine that. I’m gonna put my money into something where I can dictate, and I can determine, the way it’s gonna go.”
Shaquille O’Neal remarked that Ice Spice is “so damn fine” after posing for a picture with the rapper and her “Karma” collaborator, Taylor Swift. The group of celebrities were all present at the Super Bowl on Sunday. In the caption of his post, the NBA legend thanked Swift for introducing the two. “And @icespice is so dam fine thanks @taylorswift,” he remarked.
In response to the post, fans trolled Shaq for thirsting over Ice Spice. “The last thing I’d expect on my page is Shaq saying ice spice is fine,” one user commented. Another joked: “bro ain’t have no hesitation in that caption.” One user noted the age difference between the two. “Yo bro, is her being the same age as his kids not cr*zy? Was he hacked,” they wrote.
Ice Spice & Taylor Swift Watch The Super Bowl Together
Ice Spice and Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl LVIII Pregame held at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Paradise, Nevada. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)
Ice Spice also shared a photo of herself with Shaq on her Instagram page, although she only captioned the post with a “W.” Her attendance at the game comes after earning her highest charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist with the release of “Think U The Sh*t (Fart).” The track reached No. 37 on the chart with the outlet’s latest update. As a collaborator, her biggest song overall remains her work with Swift on “Karma.” Together they reached No. 2. Check out Shaq’s post for Ice Spice below.
As for the Super Bowl itself, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 after an overtime comeback. It marks the team’s third championship since drafting Patrick Mahomes. Be on the lookout for further updates on Shaquille O’Neal on HotNewHipHop.
NBA Legend, entrepreneur, DJ, rapper, TV personality, the list of Shaquille O’Neal’s occupations is incredible. His reputation precedes him and he is one of the most likable celebrities and people on the planet. While Shaq is certainly one of the greatest NBA players ever, he believes he is the best at one of his other many talents. In an interview with TMZ Sports, Shaq talked about a few topics, one of which is his rapping career. For those who do not know, when he was dunking all over his opponents, he was also bodying beats. A year after he was drafted by the Orlando Magic, The Diesel was rapping on the side.
His first full project, Shaq Diesel, was put out in 1993. Then, just a year later, he released Shaq-Fu: Da Return. That album boasted impressive features from Method Man, Redman, and others. It took a while before getting back into it, but, lately, he has been a DJ for the past few years. He also dropped a fire verse with California rap duo, Coyote in early September. With all of this experience and abilities, he believes he is the best athlete-rapper of all time.
Here Is Proof Of Shaq Being The Best Athlete-Rapper
In the interview, Shaq acknowledges plenty of other athlete-spitters including Damian Lillard. However, when he hears others chattering about other talents, he needs to remind everyone who is the G.O.A.T. “It’s all competition for me, so when I hear other people that say, ‘I’m a better athlete-rapper than Shaq,’ I gotta step up.” He continues, “I know who the number one is. Ima always say myself is number one, but they got a lot of the guys out there that are coming.”
What are your initial thoughts on Shaquille O’Neal saying he is the best rapper from any professional sport? If you disagree, who do you think is better than him? What is your favorite Shaq track? We want to hear what you have to say about all of this. With that in mind, be sure to leave all of your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest breaking news around Shaquille O’Neal and the rest of the sports and music world.
This past weekend, Boulder, Colorado was bringing out all of the stars, including Shaquille O’Neal, for one reason and one reason only. If you have not been keeping up with college football this season, the Colorado Buffaloes are the talk of the town this year because of Deion Sanders. Ever since he has taken the reins of what has been a porous program for quite some time, they are back on the map. Just last season the team went 1-11 and were dead last in the Pac-12. Now, they are 3-0 and ranked number 19 in the country in the AP Top 25 Poll.
Colorado was up against it this past Saturday when they faced their in-state rival Colorado State. It was a brutal battle for the Centennial Cup, even with the Rams being 23-point underdogs ahead of kickoff. Colorado was down by double digits, but Shedeur Sanders and the offense came alive in the fourth quarter and both overtimes to stun the visitors, 43-35. Shaquille O’Neal was in attendance and he saw greatness on the field, but also on the sidelines.
Shaquille O’Neal Has Nothing But Compliments For Deion
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Shaq heaped tons of praise on Deion Sanders and the job he has done since his arrival. When a legend in another sport recognizes high-level coaching, you know he is talking about it from experience. The Diesel compared him to another all-timer in Phil Jackson, who led those Shaq and Kobe Bryant teams to multiple championships. He explained, “I know exactly what the [Colorado players] are going through because when you are standing in front of someone that has an impressive resume, and you’re trying to get to the level he get to, everything you say is golden. I felt that way when Phil Jackson first came to the Lakers.” He also added that Deion is the best coach in college football currently. The team is still growing, but make no mistake, Colorado football is here to stay because of Sanders.
What are your initial thoughts on Shaquille O’Neal having this high praise for Colorado head coach, Deion Sanders? Do you agree or disagree that he is the best college football coach right now? Are they realistically able to compete for a national championship, or just a good Bowl game? We want to hear what you have to say about all of this. With that in mind, be sure to leave all of your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest breaking news around the sports world.
NO BEEF 
JUST CONTEXT 
