“One’s driving the Rolls, one’s driving the Bentley, one’s driving the Ferrari, it’s like it’s just a movie” - Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith on Shaquille O'Neal arriving with an entourage on set, says Shaq created a hookah lounge in the studio
Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny 'The Jet' Smith are two prominent members of the Inside the NBA crew, alongside Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson.
While the team appears to get along on television, Smith revealed what life with Shaq was like during the early days.
Then the second thing happened. So Shaq used to come in and be Shaq. Y'all know what Shaq is. Shaq is a movie. Shaq's gonna walk around, he's got 10 people coming in. He created a hookah lounge in the studio and they let him do this. They were like, he's like, 'I have to have my hookah,' so he has a hookah lounge outside.
Charles Barkley has spoken about Shaq's affinity for hookahs in the past, so it makes sense that hookahs would be a sticking point for him. While Shaquille O'Neal wanted the hookah lounge for himself, the veterans were not so happy.
They make it and they put a TV outside the studio. We've got a green room, like yo man, me and Chuck in the green room. We've been doing this for 15 years together. This dude gonna come in y'all gonna build a hookah lounge for him? What the hell is going on, yo?
Being Shaquille O'Neal is a significant part of his brand, as is his entourage.
Kenny 'The Jet' Smith on Shaquille O'Neal's entourage
While the hookah lounge was an issue for Kenny 'The Jet' Smith and Charles Barkley, Shaq's entourage became a bigger deal for Chuck.
According to Kenny 'The Jet' Smith, Shaquille O'Neal's entourage would arrive like a fleet out of a movie. Barkley was not a fan of the film they seem to be a part of.
Yeah, yeah, like what's going on, and then he's got an entourage. Everybody's driving. One's driving the Rolls, one's driving the Bentley, one's the Ferrari, it's like it's just a movie. Me and Chuck, Chuck for sure, Chuck is very sensitive. He's like, he doesn't like it. Like, I'm like, I'm used to that in a way, like I'm OK with it, but Chuck is not having it.
Kenny Smith also pointed out that the Inside the NBA people let Shaq get away with other antics because he's Shaq.
So now he's not watching the game. DJ equipment, no I kid you not, he's practicing his DJ while the game is going on. They let him get away with all that because he's Shaq.
Due to Shaquille O'Neal's celebrity status, he also spends time with other prominent celebrities like Kenny 'The Jet' Smith's co-star in Hustle, Adam Sandler.
"I would miss free throws and he would get in his Bobby Boucher voice" 🤣
@SHAQ shares some stories with @AdamSandler on the latest episode of #TheBigPodcast: bit.ly/3xfA5LI https://t.co/EDEpbaZTCf
Shaq became a superstar by being Shaq, so Kenny 'The Jet' Smith and his show mates deal with the antics while getting payback by roasting Shaquille O'Neal.