Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most beloved figures in NBA history. While he may have had some issues in the past, O’Neal was always known to be a humorous guy around the league. To this day, Shaq always tends to clown around other people, no matter the situation.
True enough, O’Neal found himself making a true but hilarious remark about Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups.
Shaquille O’Neal Hilariously Addresses Chauncey Billups’ Suspension
In a recent interview with Caleb Pressley, O’Neal made humorous remarks about Billups. During the interview, Pressley asked the NBA legend about what kind of music he thought a specific player would play if they were a DJ.
Pressley brought up names such as Yao Ming and Billups. When Shaq shared his thoughts on what type of music the Blazers’ head coach could play as a DJ, he found a way to subtly bring up his arrest.
“Music that you can bet on,” O’Neal said about the type of music Billups could play as a DJ.
While it was clearly a joke on Shaq’s end, his subtle way of bringing up Billups’ arrest contained a lot of truth. In October 2025, the Blazers’ head coach was allegedly involved in a gambling scandal that resulted in his arrest.
According to earlier reports, Billups was seemingly involved in the illegal high-stakes poker games being held in New York, Las Vegas, and Miami. Reports suggest that the Blazers’ head coach used his status as a well-known figure to bring in wealthy individuals.
Reports revealed that the games allegedly utilized high-tech cheating methods, including X-ray tables, marked cards, and shuffling machines designed to defraud players of an estimated $7 million.
This led to Billups’ indefinite suspension in the NBA. While the Blazers haven’t fired him, we’re not entirely sure if he’ll still make his return as the team’s head coach.
In Nov. 2025, Billups pleaded not guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges. While that does come as good news for the NBA legend, he still has a long way to go with this case. Reports say that Billups has an upcoming trial that is tentatively scheduled to take place sometime in Sep. 2026.
If the result of the trial comes out positive, then Billups should be able to return to the NBA as a head coach. He is under contract with the Blazers until the 2027-28 season. If Portland doesn’t end up waiving his contract, we’d likely see the NBA legend return sometime in 2027, assuming he doesn’t get sentenced to prison.
