Watch: Shaquille O'Neal goofs around on Inside The NBA set as a Christmas tree falls on him
Christmas Day in the NBA is always special, and Shaquille O'Neal has been a part of the action as a player. After leaving the LA Lakers in 2004, he played in three consecutive Christmas Day games against friend and former teammate Kobe Bryant.
The crew of NBA on TNT also have a tradition of their own on Christmas Day. Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley share gifts to celebrate the season, but it always ends with an "accident."
The guys in the studio love to have fun, and Shaquille O'Neal is almost always at the receiving end. If he is not tripping on wires, he is crash-landing into things. On this occasion, the Christmas tree fell on him as he tried to unwrap a gift box under the tree.
There's nothing quite like Christmas in Studio J 😂🎄
Happy Holidays from #InsideTheNBA! https://t.co/a5xSSF2ngl
Although Shaquille O'Neal is arguably the most dominant player in NBA history, he is the target of many of the team's pranks.
Outside of the jokes and playing around, Shaquille O'Neal has been critical of the players. He has called out the Lakers' Anthony Davis, who has not been a great "1-2 punch" this season.
Earlier in the week, spoke on the Brooklyn Nets' decision to allow Kyrie Irving to play as a part-time player. He believes the franchise panicked and did not need to bring Irving back into the fold.
Shaquille O'Neal's career highlights
Shaquille O'Neal won three consecutive championships from 2000-2002 partnered up with Kobe Bryant. In 2003, he joined the Miami Heat, helping Dwyane Wade and the franchise win their first-ever championship in 2006.
Since Shaquille O'Neal, the NBA has not seen a player dominate in the low post as well as The Big Diesel. His body and strength were his biggest tools, as it was a mismatch even when guarded by big men. He had his way in the paint and led the league in field goal percentage ten times in his 19-year career.
All-Time Leading Scorers On Christmas Day:
1. Kobe Bryant - 395
2. LeBron James - 383
3. Oscar Robertson - 377
4. Dwyane Wade - 314
5. Kevin Durant - 299
6. Shaquille O’Neal - 272
7. Russell Westbrook - 241
8. Dolph Schayes - 239
9. Walt Bellamy - 237
10. Richie Guerin - 232
Superman played his best basketball with the Lakers, winning three championships and earning the Finals MVP award all three times. He also won the league MVP award in 2000 and made 15 All-Star appearances.
Shaquille O'Neal was lethal under the rim, and that helped him win scoring titles in 1995 and 2000. He made 14 All-NBA teams and three NBA All-Defensive second teams.
Big Shaq has done it all, from acting, to music, to professional wrestling, and was an officer of the law. In the last decade, Shaquille O'Neal has worked as an analyst on TNT.
Shaq played 1,207 games in his career and averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.3 blocks. He is ranked 8th on the NBA's all-time scoring leaderboard.