Bill Simmons says ‘Inside the NBA’ has a Shaquille O’Neal issue: ‘Seems like he’s there because it’s fun’

Credit: Inside the NBA; The Bill Simmons Podcast

Bill Simmons may have put his finger on one of the subtle reasons that Inside the NBA has not worked as well in its first season airing on ESPN.

As the show nears its first run-through of the NBA Finals since being licensed by the Worldwide Leader, it has received many complaints from viewers and media alike. And in a recent episode of his podcast, Simmons acknowledged that the show’s scheduling restraints are clearly holding it back, but added that one of the show’s two main stars isn’t carrying his weight.

“It’s the first time they’ve really had backlash, and I don’t know how much of it’s fair and how much of it isn’t fair, but they’ve also been in everybody’s life for such a long time that it’s kind of, this is an inevitable way that this could probably end,” Simmons said.

“But the whole thing has felt off the whole year. I love that show, but the ESPN fit, some of the time that they have, the fact that they don’t have the same time they had after the games, which is when I really thought that show was at the most important.

“And to me, Shaq is the biggest issue with the show. It seems like he’s there because it’s fun to be on the show, but it doesn’t seem like he follows basketball at a high enough level anymore. Like, he doesn’t know who people like (Celtics forward) Baylor Scheierman are. You’re on a studio show covering a sport, you know? There has to be some sort of a modicum of following the game.”

Because of ESPN’s commitment to Scott Van Pelt’s SportsCenter as well as restrictions around ABC cutting to late-night local newscasts, Inside the NBAhas far less room to stretch its legs postgame than it did on cable, when it aired for decades on TNT. The show also aired far fewer times than normal, as ESPN juggled the Los Angeles-based  while bringing in for the biggest games.