SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 24: Shaquille O'Neal attends 2019 NBA Awards at Barker Hangar on June 24, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/WireImage)The day basketball fans have been waiting months for is finally here as the NBA kicks off its restart on Thursday night.
There are two massive contests set up for the restart. Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans square off against the Utah Jazz in the first game back.
Not long after, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers take on Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers in one of the biggest games of the season.
Before the action kicks off, the NBA on TNT crew popped back into the studio to get things started. However, there was a very notable absence when the crew started shooting.
Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley were all in their respective seats on time. Former Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal, however, was nowhere to be found.
Ernie and Barkley immediately started making fun of Shaq for being late to his first day of work in months.
Check it out.
Where is @SHAQ? 😂 pic.twitter.com/K0Y9sjEH01
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) July 30, 2020
Shaq eventually showed up to do the show and was immediately called out by Barkley and Smith for his appearance.
The former NBA star looked a little disheveled as he strolled into the studio this afternoon.
Update: @SHAQ finally arrived to Studio J 😂 pic.twitter.com/J14rFVLzH8
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) July 30, 2020
To be fair, Shaq said there was a car accident that held up traffic as he was on his way to work.
Nonetheless, the NBA on TNT crew won’t let Shaq live this one down any time soon.
