Shaq Celebrates His Final Broadcast of the NBA Season by Stripping: ‘Put Some Pants On!’

Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith had their final broadcast of the NBA season Thursday night, and their enthusiasm for summer vacation mirrored that of a kid celebrating the last day of school.

With ESPN owning exclusive rights to the NBA Finals, TNT aired their final game broadcast of the season last week. Thursday night, Shaq and Smith appeared remotely on TNT’s sister network NBA TV. After being informed it was their last scheduled appearance of the season, they both celebrated – without pants.

Shaq backed up from the camera, providing the audience a full view of his legs and started twirling his jacket around in the air. Smith could be heard in the background shouting at Shaq to “put some pants on!”

Normally, the Inside the NBA crew is on set, which doesn’t afforded them the luxury of working without pants. But since their NBA TV appearance was remote, Shaq and Kenny only had to dress their upper half.

It wasn’t the first time Shaq was caught in a risqué position. Earlier this year, TNT shared an image of O’Neal from a quarter-century ago, hiking up his shorts to reveal his derriere for teammate Rick Fox. This time, Shaq’s lower half was at least covered by his boxer shorts.

The last 12 months were a grueling schedule for Turner’s basketball broadcasters, making the summer break sweeter than usual and justifying Shaq’s celebration. With the NBA’s Covid-induced restart last July, the playoffs didn’t conclude until late October, quickly turning around to tip off the 2021 season in December. But the NBA will return to its normal schedule next fall and Shaq will hopefully return to wearing pants.

Watch above via TNT