The All-Star weekend serves as an unofficial midway point of the season. With the break giving players time to rest and recuperate, it also offers an unfiltered look into their lives as they typically let loose.
Alongside the players, the ones covering the game, especially the “NBA on TNT” crew, who have had a ton of fun throughout the weekend. This year was no different as Shaquille O’Neal found a new target to torment over the course of the weekend.
Shaquille O’Neal Has a Challenge for Vince Carter
Over the years, the “NBA on TNT” crew has gone through a lot of changes. While the usual quartet of O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson are the most common names, others have also taken up the mantle — whether it is active players like Draymond Green, WNBA legends like Candace Parker, or blasts from the NBA’s past like Jamal Crawford and Vince Carter.
The latter is considered an All-Star weekend legend. Aside from his eight All-Star selections, he also had one of the most historic performances in the history of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
And with the declining quality of recent iterations of the event, the four-time NBA champion urged the legend to suit up again, even offering up a large sum in jest to make the deal more lucrative.
“The fans donate money, all the big-time people donate money. Let’s say we raise $50 million tonight for you to recreate that dunk. Would you and could you do it? Fifty million,” O’Neal told Carter on “NBA on TNT.”
"Where's the local hospital?" 🚑
Shaq offered to wager $50M for Vince to recreate his iconic dunk tonight 😂 pic.twitter.com/XYK10oh03C
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 16, 2025
The Toronto Raptors legend took the joke in stride and countered with one of his own, saying, “Before we entertain them, where’s the local hospital? Is there one close by? Right over there? OK, cool. Hey, that’s where we’re going. Hey, that’s where we’re going.”
But, the ever-persistent O’Neal wasn’t to be denied. He continued, raising the price four times, “Vince, my last and final offer, $200 million.”
However, Carter, who played in the NBA till he was 40 wasn’t going to start dunking again. He laughed it off and declined the offer as the attention turned to the weekend’s festivities.
Already, Tyler Herro has secured his first 3-point contest crown, while Mac McClung became the second player in history after Nate Robinson to win three Slam Dunk Contests, becoming the first athlete to three-peat in the event.
