WATCH: Leaked footage of Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley's NSFW squabbling behind the scenes on TNT
Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley were part of the TNT crew that covered the NBA All-Star Game. As part of the award-winning “Inside the NBA” show, the two are arguably the most in-demand analysts and commentators around. They often grab headlines with their hilarious banter on national TV.
On Sunday, O’Neal and Barkley prepared for the game to start along with co-hosts Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith. Shaq grumbled about TNT not airing his jersey retirement ceremony with the Orlando Magic on Feb. 14. “Chuck” called out the LA Lakers legend for complaining, considering that the network had a double-header to feature.
Charles Barkley had to tell his co-hosts what Shaquille O'Neal was mad about:
“You’re a liar. You said they should show you respect by putting your show on TNT.”
Smith told Barkley that he somewhat agreed with O’Neal. “Sir Charles,” however, was adamant and added that the retirement ceremony was shown on NBA TV, which he said was enough coverage. The former Houston Rockets guard continued to argue for Shaq by saying that they could have used a double screen or two feature coverages.
While Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley went back-and-forth Shaquille O'Neal could only shake his head at Barkley. The three-time NBA Finals MVP finally had enough and told the former Philadelphia 76ers great that he was a “company guy.”
Charles Barkley pokes fun at Shaquille O'Neal about other teams potentially retiring Shaq’s jersey
Charles Barkley relishes trying to get under Shaquille O'Neal’s skin. On more than a few occasions, he has succeeded in doing that which often set off a couple of nasty exchanges. Barkley very nearly did it again when he said this:
“Hey, I tell you what, when they retire your Suns jersey.”
Barkley laughed so hard that he couldn’t even continue his sentence. O’Neal, like “Chuck” played two seasons with the Suns later in his career. Phoenix will have a bigger chance of retiring Barkley’s jersey instead of Shaq’s, though.
Charles Barkley refused to stop and added:
“Ernie [Johnson], you know what we should do when they retire his jersey in Cleveland? We should go. We should do the show from there that night.”
Shaquille O’Neal responded:
“A bum can never hurt my feelings, trust me. He’s [Barkley] homeless when you compare him to me.
Barkley was about to pile on about the Boston Celtics retiring Shaq’s jersey when the studio engineer told him to get ready for the live show. Had the interruption not happened, the two would have likely gotten into a more contentious back-and-forth.