Shaquille O’Neal admits dealing with pressure getting compared to legends: "I was just thinking about winning championships…I was compared to Bill, Wilt & Kareem”
The TNT broadcast is undoubtedly one of the best things in all of sports as Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal are typically seen cracking jokes at each other throughout the episodes. It's always awesome to see former players talk about the sport that they played for so long and when we also factor in that those are two all-time greats, it makes it even better.
What they're saying about players and teams is valuable information because of everything they know about the league. Although sometimes they do have some outrageous takes about things, this interaction recently on Tuesday before the TNT kickoff was hilarious.
"For me, coming in, I was compared to Bill, Wilt and Kareem..." Chuck: "Just for the record... nobody mentioned you with those guys." Shaq: "And they don't mention you at all."
Shaq: "For me, coming in, I was compared to Bill, Wilt and Kareem..."
Chuck: "Just for the record... nobody mentioned you with those guys."
Shaq: "And they don't mention you at all." 🤣 https://t.co/Jz8n1DVIfq
Shaquille O'Neal Career Highlights
When thinking about the guys that Shaquille O'Neal mentioned, it's easy to see why other people would compare him to them. Although he might not have had the same type of history as those guys because they played much longer than he did in terms of when they played in the NBA, there's a good argument to be made that Shaquille O'Neal is the best player on that list. It could be tough to say that he's better than Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but there are certainly people out there who would say that Shaquille O'Neal was better because of the type of competition he played.
On top of that, Shaquille O'Neal is an NBA champion and that's something that nobody can take away from him. He's at been able to win multiple championships throughout his career and it was impressive every single time that he did so. He has four NBA titles under his belt in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2006. He did play with Kobe Bryant for some of his career, which ranks as one of the best duos that the NBA has ever seen.
Charles Barkley Career Highlights
Charles Barkley is also somebody that will go down as one of the better players in NBA history for a few different reasons.
Although he never won a ring, he's a Hall of Famer, 11-time All-Star, MVP, 11-time All-NBA, and has many other accolades. His stats might not be the same as Shaquille O'Neal's, but they are still impressive nonetheless and deserve all the credit in the world. He averaged 26.6 points over his long career and also was able to grab 11.7 rebounds per game. The numbers that he put up are nothing to slouch at as there's a legitimate argument to be made that he was also one of the best players that has ever played the game.
This was another hilarious conversation between the two Hall of Famers, but don't expect it to be the last one either. These guys go at it every single time that they're on TV, which makes the show even more enjoyable. Their knowledge on top of their personalities make this one of, if not, the best sports shows in the world.