After the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 119-111 loss to an Eastern Conference contender — the New York Knicks — Hall of Fame center and ESPN broadcaster Shaquille O’Neal offered a bet to his co-worker, Hall of Fame forward and ESPN analyst Charles Barkley. Barkley believes the Knicks will win the East in the wake of their season-opening win over the Cavs, who are projected to finish the regular season with a better record.
The Knicks aren’t far behind, as the two teams are head and shoulders above the rest of the Eastern Conference. However, O’Neal has more faith in the Cavs and called out for his “money” to be placed on the table for Barkley, which immediately caught co-host Kenny Smith’s attention when two brick-sized stacks of cash were placed on the table.
“Can I see one of those stacks? Oh, these are actually good ones,” Smith said in reference to O’Neal’s fake cash, which host Ernie Johnson revealed one of the $100 bills read, “For motion picture use only.”
Smith, who agreed with Barkley, says that how the Knicks’ new head coach, Mike Brown, uses his starters will be critical to their success, but they are talented enough to reach the NBA Finals.
“The Knicks have everything they need to get to the NBA Finals, except we have to see if Mike Brown will have the same usage for KAT [Karl-Anthony Towns] and Jalen Brunson,” Smith said.
Anthony-Towns and Brunson rounded out five Knicks players who finished in the top 20 for minutes per game last season. Josh Hart led at first with 37.6 minutes per game, Mikal Bridges (37.0) finished third, and OG Anunoby (36.6) was fifth. Still, Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t think it matters and feels confident in his bet.
“Ya’ll disappoint ya’ll selves every year with the Knicks,” O’Neal said toward Barkley and Smith. “That was last year. Chuck was fat last year. Now look at him. He’s a sex symbol.”
This was Shaq’s comedic way of saying things change.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst addresses the Cavs’ changes in 2025-26
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Without Cavs guard Darius Garland to start the regular season, Evan Mobley will take on an increased role, which ESPN’s Brian Windhorst warned fans about. It’ll take some adjusting, especially this early in the season.
“Evan Mobley has shown us he is an All-NBA player and NBA Defensive Player of the Year,” Windhorst said. “He is still very young. There is no reason to keep a limit on his ability. What they’re asking him to do more of at the beginning of the year, especially with Darius Garland out, is to be more of a playmaker on offense. The ball is going to be in his hands more.”
"The ball is going to be in his hands more, and they did it because they think he can handle it," – @WindhorstESPN on Evan Mobley. pic.twitter.com/klcJiElzYU
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) October 22, 2025
The Cavs will face the Nets on Friday.
