When Shaquille O'Neal pranked Stephen A. Smith on his own show for mocking the Cowboys - "My name is Tex Johnson"
Shaquille O'Neal has developed a reputation as a bit of a trickster over the years. It just so happened that ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith ended up becoming a victim to one of his harmless pranks on an episode of his show.
Stephen A. Smith is one of the most respected analysts in ESPN's roster. With his coverage of basketball and football being his calling card, Smith is also known to be a die hard Knicks fan and a Dallas Cowboys "hater".
Around four years ago, Smith was receiving calls from fans on "The Stephen A. Smith Show". An important point to note, however, was that Smith was sporting a cowboy hat to troll the Dallas Cowboys.
While receiving calls, Smith suddenly coincidentally received one from Dallas from a man named "Tex Johnson". What followed was beyond Smith's expectations.
The man on the phone started off by saying:
"Yeah, first of all, you gotta take that damn cowboy hat off. Stop talking about the damn Cowboys, you understand me, son?"
Smith was beyond perplexed as he was left asking who the caller was. "Tex" responded by telling the analyst to stop ridiculing the franchise. Smith defended himself by saying it was his show and his platform. The caller responded by saying:
"Listen, I know you got a big old fancy house up there in New York or Jersey. I got some horses that'll come and do some business on your lawn."
At this point, Smith seemed serious. He asked who the caller was one again. The response remained the same.
"My name is Tex Johnson, sir."
At this point, Stephen A. finally had his moment of realization.
"Hell no! This is you, isn't it, Shaq?! Shaq! Shaq! That's you, ain't it?!"
After being made, Shaq couldn't hold back his laughter. Although he still tried to defend his "Tex Johnson" identity, he failed hilariously.
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Shaquille O'Neal as a victim of pranks
As a bit of a trickster himself, Shaquille O'Neal has a penchant for playing pranks on others. However, although rare, it has so happened that O'Neal has been on the receiving end of some pranks as well.
Most commonly, O'Neal has been pranked by his co-panelists from TNT's "Inside the NBA". One memorable April Fool's Day prank involved convincing Shaq that he was ranked 9th in Bleacher Report's list of Top 100 centers of All-Time.
It was evident that Shaq was shocked when he was placed lower than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell itself. However, the lower down the list his name went, O'Neal was proportionately more bewildered.
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