Shaquille O'Neal. Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Shaq lists his 'man crushes'

By Sean Keane | Last updated 12/20/23

"Shaqtin' A Fool" is a regular "Inside The NBA" tradition. Tuesday night, Shaquille O'Neal was Shaqtin' amorous.

As part of a promotion for the upcoming "Aquaman" sequel, Ernie Johnson discussed the absent Charles Barkley's "affinity" for star Jason Momoa, playing a montage of Barkley discussing how much he wanted Momoa on the show, including his comment that Momoa was "more sexy than good-looking."

While Kenny Smith seemed deeply uncomfortable mentioning his own "man crushes," O'Neal had no such hesitation, sprinkling names of men he considered handsome into his Shaqtin' commentary.

"Shaqtin' a Poole is the gift that keeps on giving"

Jordan Poole takes home another crown in the Christmas edition of #Shaqtin pic.twitter.com/kNMOo583ix
— Shaqtin' a Fool (@shaqtin) December 20, 2023

"Daniel Theis. It's the season of giving, so he gave up on playing defense," O'Neal intoned, before adding, "Wesley Snipes" and explaining, "I'm giving you all my man crushes, Kenny."

O'Neal went on to name-check handsome actors Shemar Moore and Denzel Washington, the latter of which caused Ernie Johnson to complain that Shaq took his man crush. He also listed former teammates Rick Fox, Udonis Haslem, Alonzo Mourning and, more dubiously, Paul Pierce.

In a sports environment that's often deeply homophobic, it was refreshing that O'Neal could discuss male attractiveness with light-hearted fun. It was a stark contrast to Smith's defensive posture.

And if you are interested in male eye candy like Barkley is, the segment does make it more likely that Momoa might one day visit the set of "Inside." If so, Chuck might be overwhelmed.

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