A recent addition to the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities is the talent show competition. Players showcase their off-the-court talent that the NBA on TNT crew of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, and Charles Barkley watches and scores.
Once the top four is decided, fans vote to decide the winner. This year’s group included former Los Angeles Lakers and current Charlotte Hornets center Dwight Howard. Always one to smile and joke, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Howard’s chosen talent was impersonations.
An easy-going personality has drawn Howard plenty of public criticism and claims he does not take the game seriously. Howard’s selected talent didn’t earn him much praise, though some attempted to be more diplomatic than others.
In his act, Howard impersonated both Shaq and Barkley, as well as actor Chris Tucker, which Inside the NBA shared on Twitter:
.@DwightHoward gives his best Shaq & Chuck impersonation… ???? pic.twitter.com/4QrmEy2YPo
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 17, 2018
Needless to say the crew, especially Shaq, was unimpressed. O’Neal detested it so much, he gave Howard a score of zero:
"Let me get to the bottom of the pile." @SHAQ, Chuck, @TurnerSportsEJ, @SnoopDogg and @TheJetOnTNT grade @DwightHoward's impersonations… ???? pic.twitter.com/h74q3M578E
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 17, 2018
Howard and O’Neal have certainly had their differences throughout the years, trading shots back and forth, though that doesn’t mean it played a role in O’Neal’s judging. Howard got low scores across the board and guest judge Snoop Dogg seemed to be trying to convince Barkley to lower his score as well.
Shaq has always been hard on Howard, particularly once Howard started being referred to as ‘Superman.’ Of course, that was Shaq’s nickname during his playing days and he didn’t appreciate it someone else using it as well.
Howard did not make the top four as Victor Oladipo’s singing ultimately won out over Robin Lopez’s drawing, and the cooking talents of Danilo Gallinari and Jameer Nelson. This is the second straight year that Oladipo’s vocal talents have won the competition.
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