NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal broke down in laughter after debuting his new haircut he joked was inspired by Stephen A. Smith.

O’Neal appeared alongside Adam Lefkoe and Candace Parker for a segment of TNT Tuesday before the Oklahoma Thunder and Miami Heat game on Tuesday.

The former basketball star’s ‘crooked’ hairline didn’t go unnoticed as he leaned into Frye to refer to him by an alias upon sitting down.

‘To my right, a four-time champion, Stephen A. Shaq,’ Lefkoe joked while introducing O’Neal. ‘You know, we had plans but when that hairline walks in it’s something we gotta discuss.

‘Shout out to my main man, Stephen A,’ the NBA legend added while pointing at his hairline that started in the middle of his head.

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal appeared on TNT Tuesday along with a ‘crooked’ haircut

O’Neal joked his new cut was inspired by ESPN TV personality Stephen A. Smith

.@SHAQ‘s hairline is comedy 🤣💈 pic.twitter.com/UI6aNZmwGs

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT)

Parker was swift to notice that O’Neal’s hear line was crooked and wasn’t shy to call it out on air.

‘Ay, is that – crooked?’ Parker asked. 

‘Is it crooked?’ O’Neal responded as the camera zoomed in for a closer look. 

Tears of laughter welled in O’Neal’s eyes as Lefkoe reassured his hair ‘looked good.’ 

  ‘Oh it is crooked,’ the Hall of Famer said while pointing the blame at his barber.

‘Bill I’ma kill you when I get home Bill,’ he laughed. 

Commenters on Twitter were swift to add onto the banter.

‘Shaq’s hair line looks like he’s been wearing lace front wigs for a while,’ one person wrote. 

‘Is that a 7 or 8 head?’ another person added. 

‘Is Shaq preparing his forehead for NBA Mount Rushmore?’  

Tears of laughter swelled in the O’Neal’s eyes as the camera crew zoomed in on his new look

ESPN TV personality Smith apparently inspired O’Neal’s new look

“That boy looking good ain’t he” 🤣@Shaq shows off his haircut 😂💈 pic.twitter.com/2HasCpAqk7

— NBA TV (@NBATV)

He then pointed blame at his barber and said: ‘Bill I’ma kill you when I get home Bill’

The former basketball star also appeared for a short segment on NBA TV with Kristen Ledlow and Channing Frye. 

His co-hosts didn’t hesitate to mock O’Neal’s new style before he walked on set.

‘I’ve been told though that our Hall of Famer, Shaquille O’Neal, is not available, but instead, Stephen A. Shaq is on the line,’ Ledlow joked. 

‘Don’t laugh at my haircut,’ O’Neal said while Ledlow insisted the camera crew zoom in the legend’s head.

‘Zoom in, that boy looking good ain’t he,’ added while welcoming the playful criticism. 

Share or comment on this article:

Shaq breaks down in laughter as he debuts new ‘crooked’ haircut inspired by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?

Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual.

Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?

Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual

We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.

You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.