Shaqtin' a Fool

Shaqtin' a Fool
Starring	Shaquille O'Neal Ernie Johnson Jr. Charles Barkley Kenny Smith
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	4
Production
Location(s)	Turner Studio J Atlanta, Georgia
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	TNT (2011–present) NBA TV (2013–present)
External links
Website

Shaqtin' a Fool is a weekly television show that is shown during 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] 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] It 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 and Matt Winer.

The segment regularly features NBA players and also includes, but is not limited to, referees,^[3] fans, mascots,^[4] and other arena employees. On special occasions, the segment features plays which had occurred during the past, including several entire "retro" editions.^[5] Each episode tends to have 5 entries 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.

At the conclusion of the NBA postseason, a Shaqtin' a Fool special airs on NBA TV. During the special, Shaquille O'Neal is joined by Jared Greenberg 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 #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.^[6] Also, ahead of the 2015-2016 season, Hotels.com sponsored Shaqtin'.

Special Editions

Other from the season-ending special, occasionally there are other special editions of Shaqtin' a Fool.

All-Star Edition

Starting from the 2013 season, an "All-Star" edition of Shaqtin' a Fool airs after NBA All-Star Weekend. It highlights bloopers that had occurred in the All Star Weekend events, such as the Slam Dunk Contest, the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, and the NBA Rising Stars Challenge.

Shaqtin' a Fool Midseason Award Special

2014

On February 27, 2014, a midseason special named the "Shaqtin's" (parodying the Academy Awards) aired on NBA TV featuring O'Neal, Scott and Greenberg.^[7]

Award	Player	Position	Team	Play Description
Worst Layup	Kendrick Perkins	Center	Oklahoma City Thunder	An up and under dunk attempt fails to hit the rim.
Worst Pass	Enes Kanter	Center	Utah Jazz	A random pass out of bounds against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Worst Shot	Enes Kanter	Center	Utah Jazz	Two botched double-clutch jumpers.
Worst Dunk	Derrick Williams	Forward	Sacramento Kings	A missed self alley-oop after getting a steal against the Chicago Bulls. Notable for occurring after Williams has Tweeted in response to Corey Brewer's own missed dunk, which occurred earlier in the week.
Worst Moment By An All-Star	Tony Parker	Guard	San Antonio Spurs	A technical free throw shot well short of the basket. This shot attempt was aborted by the officials, possibly while Parker was in mid-shot.[8][9][10]
Worst Turnover	Marcin Gortat	Center	Washington Wizards	A botched Dream Shake against Tim Duncan.
Worst Moment	JaVale McGee	Center	Denver Nuggets	Piggy-backing Steven Adams while running back on defense during a fast break. This would be McGee's only appearance on Shaqtin' a Fool all season, as he was sidelined with a broken left leg.
Lifetime Achievement Award	JaVale McGee	Center

2015

For 2015, O'Neal, Scott and Greenberg were joined by Funkmaster Flex, who also presented Flexin' A Fool, reserved for players under 6 feet. Ashanti also made an appearance to put her spin on the intro.

Award	Player	Position	Team	Play Description
Worst Fast Break	Brandon Knight	Guard	Milwaukee Bucks	Blowing a breakaway game-winning layup in overtime.
Worst Pass	Brandon Knight	Guard	Milwaukee Bucks	A badly botched jump pass against the Indiana Pacers.
Worst Shot	Brandon Jennings	Guard	Detroit Pistons	Passing up a wide open layup and then missing a contested jumper.
Worst Dunk	Corey Brewer	Guard/Forward	Minnesota Timberwolves	An (uncalled) six-step travel on a breakaway dunk.
Worst Play By An All-Star	James Harden	Guard	Houston Rockets	Matador defense in transition against the New York Knicks.
Worst Moment	Lance Stephenson	Guard	Charlotte Hornets	Slapping himself and flopping after running into a screen.
Lifetime Achievement Award	Brandon Knight	Guard

2016

On February 17, 2016, Greenberg hosted the 2016 edition with O'Neal and Scott.

Award	Player	Position	Team	Play Description
Worst Shot	Marcelo Huertas	Guard	Los Angeles Lakers	Shoots a three-pointer behind the head as the shot clock expired after getting his first shot blocked.
Worst Play By An All-Star	James Harden	Guard	Houston Rockets	Two plays in the winning nomination: matador defense in transition against the New York Knicks and failure to defensively rebound a missed layup by the Detroit Pistons, which surrendered a tip-in. A wildly errant pass by James Harden against the Utah Jazz was featured in another nomination.
Worst Fast Break	Nerlens Noel	Forward/Center	Philadelphia 76ers	Mishandling his dribble on a fast break after stealing the ball from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Worst Pass	Anderson Varejão	Forward/Center	Cleveland Cavaliers	A pass that hit LeBron James in the face while receiving another pass during warm-ups.
Worst Uncalled Travel	Dirk Nowitzki	Forward	Dallas Mavericks	Uncalled backward hopping while possessing the ball and posting up against the Houston Rockets.
Worst Moment	Bismack Biyombo	Center	Toronto Raptors	Dribbles the ball after stopping his dribble, then lets the ball go loose upon realizing his mistake.
Lifetime Achievement Award	Kendrick Perkins	Center

In addition, O'Neal's mispronouncing of players' names was featured before the Worst Fast Break was presented.

"Old School" Edition (2014)

On December 11, 2014, a special edition of Shaqtin' a Fool, titled "Old School", featured plays which occurred during the 1980s, 90s, 2000s, and a special section showing O'Neal's top bloopers during his career as a player.^[11] This edition ran on NBA TV, and showed 5 plays for each category, totaling to 20 plays.

Category	Players Featured
1980s	Larry Bird, Darryl Dawkins, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Danny Ainge, and Karl Malone
1990s	Tim Kempton, Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan, Chris Mills, Samaki Walker, and Shawn Marion
2000s	Lamar Odom, Nick Buchert, JaVale McGee, Shaquille O'Neal, and Michael Ruffin
Shaquille O'Neal	Shaquille O'Neal

^ [1] Walker was included in the same play as Mills

^ [2] Buchert is an NBA referee

Shaqtin' a Fool Most Valuable Player

JaVale McGee is a two-time winner of the Shaqtin' a Fool MVP award.

Kendrick Perkins, the 2014 Shaqtin' a Fool MVP

The Shaqtin' a Fool Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual award presented at the Shaqtin' a Fool special during the conclusion of the NBA Playoffs. In the 2011-12 and the 2012-13 season, fans voted online for their favorite play of the year, and whichever player whose play accumulated the most amount of votes for that season was awarded with the Shaqtin' a Fool MVP. In the 2013-14 season, the MVP was decided through the most amount of appearances made by one player in a single season. In the event of a tie, fans vote for a player, and the leading candidate receives the award. For the 2014-15 season, three nominees were named and fans voted online for the winner.

Season	Player	Position	Team	Notes	Reference
2011-12	JaVale McGee	Center	Washington Wizards	Traded to the Denver Nuggets before the season ended
2012-13	JaVale McGee	Center	Denver Nuggets
2013-14	Kendrick Perkins	Center	Oklahoma City Thunder	Initially tied with Nick Young, fans later voted for Perkins to break the tie	[12]
2014-15	Otto Porter	Small forward	Washington Wizards	Won the fan vote against Brandon Knight and Dion Waiters	[13]

Trivia

• The segment was renamed "Kennying Around" when Smith stepped in for O'Neal on the March 7th, 2014 edition, and again on December 3, 2015.^[14]

References

1. Tim Troglen (January 4, 2015). "TNT Show Created for NBA Legend Shaquille O'Neal". Hudson Hub Times. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
2. Tim Troglen (November 19, 2014). "Former Hudsonite helps Shaq show foibles, follies of NBA's best on TNT". Hudson Hub Times. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
3. Joel C. Cordes. "Shaqtin' a Fool: NY Knicks Need Acting Classes". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
4. Joel C. Cordes. "Shaqtin' a Fool: Swaggy P's Premature Celebration". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
5. Josh Martin. "Happy Birthday, Chuck: Charles Barkley's Most 'Shaqtin a Fool' Moments". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
6. Joel C. Cordes. "Shaqtin' a Fool: Kendrick Perkins and JaVale McGee Terrorize on the Fast Break". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
7. james harden not mvp
11. Shaqtin' a Fool: Old School, December 11, 2014 YouTube (originally aired on TNT)
12. "Kendrick Perkins wins the 2013/14 Shaqtin’ a Fool MVP Award". Ballislife.com. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
13. Des Bieler. "Otto Porter is your 2015 'Shaqtin' a Fool' MVP". The Washington Post.
14. Shaqtin' a Fool (Kennying Around) - March 7th, 2014 YouTube (originally aired on TNT)