NBA television coverage ceased to be a journalistic enterprise and started being entertainment back around the time that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson retired … and that’s OK. It’s just a game, after all, and aside from the occasional Donald Sterling remark, there’s no real journalism needed.
So as such, Shaquille O’Neal is pretty much perfect as an analyst. TNT hired him as a personality to weigh down the left side of the desk — a counterbalance to Charles Barkley’s girth of character on the far right. But don’t expect trenchant analysis from the three-time NBA Finals MVP.