"Standup right now Imma tackle you": Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley squabble over Austin Rivers' NFL-NBA take
During Wednesday's postgame show on TNT, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal discussed Austin Rivers’ bold claim about NBA players being capable of playing in the NFL.
Rivers spoke about the quality of athletes in the NBA on the Pat McAfee Show. He claimed that basketball stars ‘set the culture,’ and he could come up with 30 NBA stars who would do well in the NFL right now.
Rivers’ bold claims led to a hilarious discussion between Barkley and O’Neal. Barkley initially said that he had no option but to address Rivers.
"I've got to call out Austin Rivers," Barkley said. "Austin Rivers, you know I love you, we can't play football. You're doing a great job, but to say that we've got 30-40 NBA players who could go play in the NFL ... Football is a grown-man sport. We're soft."
Barkley was interrupted multiple times by O’Neal. The former Lakers star wanted Barkley to stand up and play with him.
"Stand up right now Imma tackle you," O’Neal said . "We can’t play football, go stand up right now. No no, stand up right now and let me show you.”
Barkley, in response, attempted to calm the situation. He said that "football is a grown man's sport."
What did Austin Rivers say about NBA and NFL?
While Shaq and Barkley are both suspicious of the notion that 30-40 NBA superstars are capable of doing well in the NFL, Rivers had the opposite view. Rivers said that he could easily get 30 NBA players to play in the NFL.
"Where the best athletes in the world are, that's us," Rivers said. "I could take 30 players right now in the NBA and throw them in the NFL. You cannot take 30 NFL players and put them in the NBA."
Rivers did not stop there and took the comparison further by saying that there was a reason hip-hop artists would regularly use NBA references in their songs.
"There's a reason why Hip Hop artists, when they rap, they compare themselves to ballers," Rivers said. "They're not talking about footballers. They're talking about basketball players. There's a reason why all the girls that we didn't get down with, the NFL players usually end up dating them later. They come to us first, bro. We set the culture."
Of course, the debate is not new, and a range of NBA superstars have been said to have the opportunity to be NFL stars as well. The likes of Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Anthony Edwards have all said that they were, at least at some point in time, capable of playing in the NFL.