"Shaquille O'Neal was last seen begging for a job at his backyard retirement bash last month.

"TNT, ESPN, CNN,'' he said. "Whoever wants to hire me, give me a call.''

Soon enough, the phone rang.

Not long after he announced he was done playing basketball after 19 years, 28,596 points, and four championships, ABC/ESPN called. They had exclusive rights to the NBA Finals and Stuart Scott's "boo-yah'' in their corner if O'Neal was interested.

But when Turner Sports contacted him, O'Neal didn't think twice about joining Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley, the reigning king of off-the-cuff basketball commentary, for some late-night hijinks. O'Neal signed a multiyear deal to join TNT's "Inside the NBA,'' adding one of basketball's biggest personalities to its award-winning studio show.

"It was very tempting,'' said O'Neal, who finished his career this past season with the Celtics. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for ABC and ESPN, but I felt that Turner and TNT was the place for me. It's always been my favorite show. I'd love to be up there hanging with Charles and Ernie and Kenny. I thought that was the best pick for me. It was a deal that I couldn't resist.''

Johnson, Smith, and Barkley's alchemy of brutal honesty and lighthearted humor has made them one of the most popular basketball broadcast teams. O'Neal said he watched TNT's team after every game."