Charles Barkley revealed on Thursday the funny nickname the TNT crew has for Shaq.
Barkley joked that they call Shaq “Petty White,” which is a play on words and reference to famous actress Betty White. Shaq said he preferred the name “Richard Petty,” who is a famous former racecar driver.
Both names refer to Shaq’s tendency to be petty about the way he criticizes and picks fights with players.
Recently, Shaq took some shots at Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert. Then Shaq tried to use some motivational tactics on Donovan Mitchell, which bothered some of Mitchell’s teammates.
Part of Shaq’s job as an analyst and personality is to attract attention, and he often does so with criticism. But his criticism also seems personal and rooted in insecurity whenever a talented big man emerges. That definitely seemed to be the case when Shaq was dealing with Dwight Howard.
Petty White definitely is a very fitting nickname.
