Shaq and Charles’ friendship and banter on TV is hands-down one of the show’s biggest highlights. Whether they’re going back and forth with hilarious insults, coming up with wild stories, or just cracking each other up mid-broadcast, their chemistry is magnetic. But what really makes their bond so entertaining is that it’s rooted in something deeper than just TV chemistry.
In November 1999, during a regular-season game between the Lakers and Rockets, tensions boiled over. Shaq fouled Barkley hard, leading to a brief altercation. Both players were ejected, but little did they know, the real resolution was going to come from an unlikely source. In the locker room, Shaq was preparing for a confrontation when his phone rang. It was his mom, Lucille, calling with a message he didn’t expect: “Y’all need to stop that, you’re too legendary for this.” She was joined by Barkley’s mom, Charcey, on the line, both women urging their sons to put the fight behind them. Because when Lucille and Charcey called? The boys listened.
During a Mother’s Day segment of NBA on TNT, Charles opened up about a touching—and surprisingly funny—memory involving his mom. “My mother, I think you’ll know well,” he began. “My mom and Shaquille’s mom were best friends. There was another lady hanging out with that group named Martha Coleman. They were the three triplets. They both came and spent my mom’s last few days before she passed away.” He paused before sharing something that clearly stayed with him: “They would take all these vacations, and I would get the bill. And I’m like, ‘Mom, you do know I don’t make as much money as Shaq, right?’”
NBA, Basketball Herren, USA All Star Game-BBVA Rising Stars Challenge February 24, 2012 Orlando FL, USA TNT anchor Kenny Smith introduces Team Shaq general manager Shaquille O Neal and Team Chuck general manager Charles Barkley before the BBVA rising stars challenge at the Amway Center in Orlando. Orlando Amway Center Florida UNITED STATES, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKimxKlement-USAxTODAYxSportsx 6023530
Charles, being Charles, managed to turn that emotional reflection into a hilarious story—because that’s how he keeps his mom’s memory alive. “‘But baby, I gotta pay my portion of the trip,’” he mimicked. “I says, ‘Why don’t you use your own check?’ [She said,] ‘Oh, I can’t afford to pay for stuff with my money.’ I says, ‘So you just gonna continue to take vacations with Shaq’s mom?’ Shaq’s making all this money, and you just can’t get mad at her.” He smiled, finishing with, “She says, ‘I can’t afford these trips with my paycheck. So I’m going to send you the bill.’ That’s my mom. Rest in peace.”
This past Mother’s Day wasn’t the first time Charles Barkley opened up about the incredible bond between the mothers. He’s spoken about it before—most memorably during a 2021 episode of The Big Podcast With Shaq. Reflecting on the final days of his mom’s life, Barkley shared how Lucille O’Neal and their close friend Miss Martha were right there by Charcey Glenn’s side. “When my mom was dying, Shaq’s mom and Miss Martha spent all their time with my mom. In her last few days,” he said. “This is how close they were. They were best friends for 30 years.”Charcey Glenn, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 73 due to kidney failure, was so much more than just his mother—she was his foundation
This was about love, friendship, and the women who stood beside each other no matter what. Charles had shared a similar story before, back in 2021 during an episode of The Big Podcast With Shaq, where he reflected on the final days of his mother’s life. “When my mom was dying, Shaq’s mom and Miss Martha spent all their time with my mom in her last few days,” he said quietly. “This is how close they were. They were best friends for 30 years.”
Charcey Glenn, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 73 from kidney failure, was his rock. And in her final moments, it was Lucille O’Neal and Miss Martha who never left her side. Their friendship, forged in real life was full of small joys: hours spent playing cards, laughing until their sides hurt, and booking trips with no plans other than to be together.
Charles Barkley’s silent wounds: When fathers fail and mothers endure
When Barkley says, ‘that’s my mom,’ it resonates far beyond a TV quip. Barkley’s childhood was shaped by two forces pulling in opposite directions. On one side, there was the fierce, unconditional love of his mother and grandmother, women who fought tooth and nail to raise four boys with barely anything. On the other hand, there was his father—first his biological one, then a stepfather, both of whom left scars, not support. “You know, I was really, really close to my mother and grandmother. They tried the best they could, raising three boys—uh, four boys total,” Barkley shared. Their effort and sacrifice were a steady presence in a childhood full of instability.
Unknown date; Portland, OR, USA: FILE PHOTO; Philadelphia 76ers forward Charles Barkley (34) against the Portland Trail Blazers at Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports
But when it came to the men who were supposed to protect him, Charles never had that anchor. His biological father walked out when he was just one, and even years later, Barkley couldn’t forget the betrayal. “I hated my father for a long time,” he said in a 60 Minutes interview. “I was very angry. And I was even angrier ’cause he kept sayin’ he was gonna send us money, and he didn’t do it. I was standin’ by the mailbox, like, once every three or four months [waiting for checks].” That image—young Chuck by the mailbox, waiting for help that never came—is the kind of heartbreak that lingers.
His stepfather offered no refuge either. In fact, Barkley spoke about him with raw, unapologetic honesty. “Oh, I hated him. He was an awful person, he was an awful person, you know? He was not a good person, and I didn’t shed a tear when he died,” he said on the Nothing Left Unsaid podcast. “He didn’t treat my mom great. He didn’t treat us great. And um, I did not shed a tear when he passed away.” That kind of emotional fracture doesn’t just come from hard times—it comes from a deep sense of injustice, of watching the people you love most be hurt, and having no one to shield you. For Barkley, love came from the women in his life. The men, sadly, left him with little more than wounds.
While the legends’ on-air banter is delightful, their mothers’ love is the real source of their enduring friendship. We learned from Charcey Glenn and Lucille O’Neal that genuine friendships are based on laughter, trust, and unconditional support.
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