Watch: Charles Barkley hilariously spells a word wrong after Shaquille O'Neal tells him he'll take his clothes off if he spells it right
Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and the award-winning NBA on TNT crew are in Salt Lake City for the All-Star weekend. They brought along their trademark and inimitable style of basketball analysis that is usually peppered with hilarity.
Shaq dared the “Chuckster” to get the spelling of the word “precautionary” right. If the latter were able to do so, the former would take off his clothes.
Barkley quickly shouted:
“Oh, Lord. P-E-R. I know, I won’t get it right. Nobody wants to see him naked!”
Shaq: "If you spell precautionary I'll take my clothes off right now."
Chuck: "P-E-R"
Chuck saved us all 🤣 https://t.co/WB7bsQ98Gz
The comedic back-and-forth started when Barkley opined about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s right wrist injury. Antetokounmpo exited with still more than 10 minutes left in the second quarter and did not return to the game.
The Milwaukee Bucks superstar went after Coby White’s layup before falling on top of the Chicago Bulls' point guard. Antetokounmpo braced for his fall but ended up grimacing in serious pain after apparently injuring his right wrist.
Charles Barkley was hoping the Bucks were just being precautious in not allowing Giannis Antetokounmpo to play again. If the All-Star team captain plays on Sunday, then Milwaukee was rightfully just exercising extreme caution.
If not, then the Bucks could be in trouble as “The Greek Freak” has been putting up MVP-type numbers, particularly over the last 11 games.
Barkley couldn’t even cap off his analysis when Shaquille O'Neal jumped in to steer the discussion to something funny.
This wasn’t the first time Shaquille O'Neal dared Charles Barkley to get a specific word’s spelling right. Last year, the two also went at it when Shaq offered him $10,000 if Barkley got the spelling of the word “spectacular” right.
Barkley wanted to make sure he got the spelling right, so he wrote it down despite Shaq’s protest. Eventually, the former Phoenix Suns MVP had the spelling corrected and proudly declared:
“I haven’t had much to brag on this year, but let me go ahead. … That Auburn education pulled me through, America.”
"That Auburn education pulled me through, America." 😂
Chuck accepted Shaq's challenge to spell "spectacular" 🤣 https://t.co/3uZIoesMOg
Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal were part of the All-Star Game in Utah 30 years ago
Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson host perhaps sports TV’s most sought-after show. They are now two of the best basketball analysts and entertainers that fans can’t seem to get enough of.
30 years ago, though, they were NBA superstars who were part of the All-Star game.
Barkley was selected for the seventh consecutive time while O’Neal was making his debut, making it to the All-Star game in his rookie season. “Chuck” led the Western Conference forwards with 858,947 votes while Shaq topped the Eastern Conference centers with 826,767 votes.
The leading vote-getter during that time was an Eastern Conference guard by the name of Michael Jordan, who had 1,035,824 votes. Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Jordan were all named starters.
Barkley’s West All-Stars took a closely fought 135-132 overtime win over O’Neal’s team. The co-MVPs were legendary Utah Jazz players Karl Malone and John Stockton.
Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal had fun in Salt Lake City 30 years ago as players. They’re still having fun as award-winning basketball analysts 30 years later.