Shaqtin' a Fool
US basketball television program / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Shaqtin' a Fool is a weekly segment from the television show Inside the NBA, the postgame show of NBA on TNT following the conclusion of National Basketball Association (NBA) games airing on cable TV channel TNT.[1] The title is a play on "actin' a fool." It first aired during the 2011–12 NBA season, when retired NBA All-Star Shaquille O'Neal voiced it upon joining the show and was created by Turner Sports producer Mike Goldfarb.[2] Shaqtin' highlights humorous and uncommon basketball plays that have occurred during NBA games in the past week. O'Neal is the host and presenter, while the other analysts in studio react and provide commentary. Most often, those have been fellow Inside regulars Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley, but other Inside hosts have also participated, including Chris Webber, Grant Hill, Steve Smith, Kevin Garnett and Matt Winer. Since 2018, the Shaqtin franchise has been led by Turner Sports producer Michael Kaplan.
Shaqtin' a Fool | |
---|---|
Starring | Shaquille O'Neal Ernie Johnson Charles Barkley Kenny Smith Ro Parrish Dennis Scott Tony Rock |
No. of seasons | 8 (TNT seasons) 5 (NBA TV seasons) |
Production | |
Production locations | Turner Studio J Atlanta, Georgia |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | TNT (2011 – present) NBA TV (2013 – present) |
The segment regularly features NBA players and also includes, but is not limited to, coaches, referees,[3] fans, mascots,[4] and other arena employees. Sometimes they also air clips from other international basketball leagues. On special occasions, the segment features plays which had occurred during the past, including several entire "retro" editions.[5] Each episode tends to have four entries (five until 2018) from the past week, with each entry typically involving a single play (although there are some times where a collection of similar bad plays, such as travels and air ball free throws, are highlighted). Multiple plays may include the same player, and a single play may highlight more than one player.
There is a special award given to certain players, called the "Shaqtin Golden Ticket," which is lifetime immunity from being included in the segment. Since its debut in 2015, four players have been awarded with the award. Those include: current New Orleans Pelicans power forward Larry Nance Jr. (2015 winner), current Philadelphia 76ers small and power forward P. J. Tucker (2016 winner, although he was featured on an episode during the 2018–19 season), 2-time Shaqtin’ MVP, 3-time NBA Champion, and current Sacramento Kings center JaVale McGee (after his long feud with O'Neal escalated in early 2017, see more in "Shaq's feud with JaVale McGee" section),[citation needed] and current Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (2018 winner, although he did appear in an episode in the 2022-23 season[6]).
At the conclusion of the NBA postseason, a Shaqtin' a Fool special airs on NBA TV. During the special, O'Neal is joined by Ro Parrish and Dennis Scott, and the top Shaqtin' a Fool plays of the season are shown. On the 2013 special, 34 plays were shown to honor O'Neal's jersey retirement of No. 34 during his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers. On the 2014 special, only 20 plays were shown. For the 2015 special, the number of plays increased to 30. Since the beginning of the 2013–14 NBA season, fans are able to tweet suggestions for Shaqtin' a Fool.[7]