Update: The Spinoff has since learnt that the coverage was on NBA TV, not Inside the NBA as previously reported. The story has been amended accordingly. We’ve also been told Soloman originally only had tickets to game three of the finals but won tickets to game four.
Former NBA MVP and one of the world’s highest-paid sports announcers Charles Barkley proudly waved the tino rangatiratanga flag after game four of the NBA finals. How did it get there?
Millions of people around the world had just witnessed the third largest blowout in NBA finals history, with the Dallas Mavericks winning 122-84 over the Boston Celtics and extending the best-of-seven series to a fifth game. Coverage transitions from the game broadcast to the postgame show. The camera cuts to former NBA MVP and one of the world’s highest-paid sports announcers Charles “Chuck” Barkley, who is standing on the court holding a sign reading “Mavs in #7.7”.
For almost 50 seconds, Barkley holds the sign in front of the camera and chants “Mavs in seven”. For most of the millions of international viewers, it’s just another sign, but for a select few, it’s a special moment. That’s because painted on the sign, there’s something only a New Zealander would spot: a tino rangatiratanga flag.
It’s not the first time a tino rangatiratanga flag has shown up in an unexpected place. The flag has flown on Mount Everest, Rapa Nui, at FIFA world cup games, and even a Harry Styles concert.
The clip of Barkley was posted on X and Instagram by the official NBA TV account, which has 7.3m followers on X and 7.8m on Instagram. Eventually, NBA fans in Aotearoa began noticing the flag on the sign and sharing the post too.
“Of all things I thought I’d never see, Charles Barkley holding the tino rangatiratanga flag is right up there,” said X user @NZ_Campbell.
So, how did one of the world’s most famous sports broadcasters come to hold a tino rangatiratanga flag in a broadcast of one of the world’s most watched sporting events?
I begin my investigation by following some new intel in our Spinoff #storyideas group chat. Labour MP Peeni Henare has responded to a retweet of the clip from media personality Andrew Mulligan: “This is my bro from Tauranga. He is a doctor there and is an absolute 100% Mavs fan and made the trip.”
I rewatch the clip from the show, and notice that after Barkley has one of his infamous cursed prediction rants talking about the Mavs coming back to win the best-of-seven series, he then says: “Me and my man believe. That’s my guy right there.” The camera cuts to a shot of two men holding signs and zooms in on one wearing an upcycled shirt with Dallas Mavericks references written all over it. As the man turns around to show off the back of his shirt, I notice a tino rangatiratanga flag painted near the bottom of it. Bingo.
A message is sent to Peeni Henare trying to figure out who his bro is. I find a comment on a post on Facebook with someone saying it’s Dr. Soloman and search the New Zealand Medical Council’s register. The only name that appears is Ebrahim Soloman. A quick search reveals Soloman is an NBA fanatic, having previously travelled to the United States to support New Zealand-born NBA star Steven Adams.
Some further investigations show Soloman had a shirt custom-made for his trip to the finals by Amerikon Clothing. The cheapest tickets available for the game reportedly cost around US$400 ($652), with premium seats costing between US$1,900 ($3,097) to US$2700 ($4,401). Plus the price of flights and accommodation.
It’s unknown what tickets Soloman bought, but they weren’t cheap. Once the game was over and the post-game coverage began, Soloman somehow managed to make his way to the sideline and get his sign in the hands of one of the greatest NBA players of all time. With Barkley picking up the sign and waving it in the broadcast, he unknowingly added to the legacy of legendary places the tino rangatiratanga flag has appeared.