Shaquille O’Neal has made it clear that he is not going to change at his soon-to-be new network.
During an appearance on the “Rich Eisen Show” on Friday, O’Neal once again stood firm on the fact that he and co-host Charles Barkley will not change their personalities for ESPN.
“I don’t have any concerns because I know one guy that you’re never going to change, and I know another guy that’s really close to him,” O’Neal said. “The other two guys — listen, Ernie [Johnson] is a consummate professional and he can adapt to any situation.
“Ernie is the guy that really keeps us out of trouble and Kenny is professional, but Chuck is right there on the line and I’m right below Chuck. Chuck’s not changing. I’m not changing.”
O’Neal, 53, also pointed to “The Pat McAfee Show” on the network as a model that “Inside the NBA” could potentially follow next season.
“I actually saw something yesterday where it said ESPN is going to give us the same no-look that they give Pat McAfee,” O’Neal added. “So, listen, we’re just going to go have fun, do what we do and talk about the game that we love and just try to make people laugh.”
Both O’Neal and Barkley have insisted on multiple occasions that they plan to stay the same despite the network change, with the latter saying last month that he dares ESPN to fire him.
“I’m not going to change my personality,” Barkley said during an episode of Outkick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich,” per Awful Announcing.
“Ain’t nobody — they can’t fire me. I make too much money to get fired. So, they can’t fire me. First of all, if they fire me, they got to pay me for seven years, and I’m going to quit way before then. But if they want to fire me, I would love for them to do that.
“The only decision we’ve been making is how long I’m going to work. … I’m not worried about getting fired. And nobody at ESPN is going to tell me what to say or do. Period.”
“Inside the NBA,” which has aired on TNT since 1989, will make the switch over to ESPN next season.
Turner is still set to produce the show by licensing it to ESPN.