Sir Charles once expressed an angry Shaquille O’Neal is no joke. Over the years, Charles Barkley has made a sport out of poking fun at the Big Diesel, and once, he pushed him so far that Shaq refused to talk to him for three whole days. That’s right—three days of complete silence on the Inside the NBA set. Barkley, of course, found the whole thing hilarious.
“That was one of the funniest things… this dude was so mad, he didn’t speak to us for like three days,” he recalled. But Shaq? He still holds a grudge. “Y’all laughing, that s— ain’t funny. I was mad that day,” he admitted. So, with all the trolling and tension, is there a real chance these two might actually throw hands someday?
According to their longtime friend and co-host Ernie Johnson, the answer is a firm no. “A lot of times the talk from people who watch, and they’ve asked me this thing, are you ever afraid that Shaq and Charles are really gonna, you know, throw hands some night? And I said, no, no,” he revealed. But what makes Johnson so confident?
LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 05: TNT’s Inside the NBA team (L-R) NBA analyst Shaquille O’Neal, host Ernie Johnson Jr., wearing an iGrow laser-based hair-growth helmet, and NBA analysts Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley talk during a live telecast of “NBA on TNT” at CES 2017 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center on January 5, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world’s largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 8 and features 3,800 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 165,000 attendees. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
For starters, it all comes down to their roots. “These guys are tight. Their moms were tight. You know, their families were tight,” Johnson explained on The Draymond Green Show. More than that, he believes both Shaq and Barkley have the maturity to handle their differences. “They realize that everybody on that show comes at the game from a different angle.”
That said, don’t expect them to hold back on the verbal jabs. Their on-screen battles are far from over. In fact, as per Ernie, there was a time when Shaq was actually “running hot.” Let’s look at it.
Ernie Johnson revealed Shaquille O’Neal’s “hot” incident
It all started three years ago during an Inside the NBA episode when Charles Barkley completely hijacked Shaq’s time during a sponsored segment. “Charles took all of Shaq’s time on a sponsored album,” Ernie Johnson revealed on a podcast. But Barkley didn’t stop there—he kept pushing, making sure Shaq barely got a word in.
Just when it was finally Shaq’s turn to speak, Barkley jumped in yet again. Why? Because, of course, he had “something else to add for the fourth time.” That was the last straw. “And then when I get it back to Shaq, no, no, no, he wants to talk all the time… supposed to be one to two to three, not one to two and back to one,” Johnson recalled, cracking up.
While the rest of the crew found it hilarious, Shaq was far from amused. “You didn’t realize he was so mad. Shaq was running hot,” Johnson admitted. In fact, Shaq still hasn’t let it go. Last year, on his podcast, he made it clear—he still holds a grudge over that moment.
But Shaq’s fury didn’t just fade when the cameras stopped rolling. “I remember that pregame show ended and Shaq immediately got up and went to the green room,” Johnson shared. Kenny Smith and Johnson exchanged worried glances, realizing someone had to calm him down. But Barkley? He did what he does best—he gave Shaq a nickname that still sticks to this day. “Mr. Sensitive.”
The post Ernie Johnson Ends Debate on Shaq vs. Chuck’s Feud, Revealing the Only Instance 4x NBA Champ Was ‘Running Hot’ appeared first on EssentiallySports.
