Someone check if pigs are flying because Shaq just paid up! It was a token and not the actual bet money but it’s still something. Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley made an expensive wager before the Cleveland Cavaliers played in Boston. They upped the stakes, threw in some fake movie money, and talked trash. Initially, it looked like a regular gag on Inside the NBA and Shaq would never pay up. Then the Celtics ended the Cavs’ winning streak with a 120-117 win. But it was Shaq who pulled a plot twist.

For the uninitiated, the Inside Guys were raving about the Cavs who were on a 15-0 run until tonight. Suddenly O’Neal declares he had “[the] Cavs by 10.” Chuckster goaded him into putting his money where his mouth is – a respectable $2 million.

Similar to his ‘Shaq Bucks’ prank on Jamal Crawford, there was no hope of the giant prankster paying up. But there was a tiny bit of pressure at the TNT studio today. Kenny brought his young team at Jet Academy to enjoy Inside the NBA live. And Big Diesel can’t look bad in front of the kids. While those kids were watching, Shaq asked Barkley, “How much do I owe you, Chuck?” 

Look at how shocked Chuckster was that his big frenemy is paying up on a bet. He says Shaq owes $3 million but after taxes, “a million-five.” Shaq is still passing a relatively smaller wad of cash. “No, Shaq-taxes. $30,000. Take it or leave it.” 

This is a guy who dropped cold hard cash to buy a couple of Bentleys at a go and tipping his servers $4,000. We can picture Shaquille O’Neal roaming with $30k in his pocket. But Kenny is insisting to Chuck, “Leave it, leave that prop money.” Although it looks serious and they don’t exactly show it, it’s very unlikely Shaq really paid for real.

Shaq makes Inside the NBA history

Earlier when they were hedging their bet Kenny Smith didn’t believe Shaq would ever pay up even if the big guy said he has $2 million in his locker. O’Neal claimed he’d go up to $3 million and pulled out stacks of cash from under the table to make a small dollar mountain on the table. Barkley even tried to up it to $5 million. Until Kenny showed that the money Shaq is flexing is ‘Prop Movie Money.’

He not only had the studio in stitches, Boston fans online laughed that Shaq was betting prop money against them. Whether the money is real or not, it’s actually a feat that O’Neal did make a token admission of losing this wager.

Last week, Shaq bet his TNT colleague Adam Lefkoe over his Dallas Cowboys playing against Lefkoe and Barkley’s Philadelphia Eagles. O’Neal was so confident in his Cowboys, he challenged he’d wear a funny wig on Inside the NBA if they lost. Well, the Cowboys lost embarrassingly (34-6) before Inside the NBA. However, no funny wig on 2023’s 9th sexiest bald man.

There are many instances in Inside lore where neither Shaq nor Chuck have paid up. Famously, Charles Barkley still owes Shaq a whopping $1 billion for the Celtics losing to Miami last year. Since it’s the thought that counts, Shaq’s (prop) $30k of Shaq-tax deducted token is a landmark moment on Inside the NBA.