Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are great friends, and the light-hearted banter between the two is always fun to watch. With the world now having entered 2024, O’Neal joked about how he would treat Barkley in the new year.
“This how I’mma do Charles Barkley in 2024. These are just jokes let’s love each other in 2024.”
O’Neal and Barkley did hilariously agree to a power slap match in December, but it appears we won’t be getting it. These two have loved each other for the longest time now and hopefully, that never changes.
The chemistry that O’Neal and Barkley have is almost unmatched, and it is a big reason why Inside the NBA has been such a massive success. There have been some tense moments between them on television over the years, but it never really affected their relationship in any way.
Charles Barkley And Shaquille O’Neal’s Sentimental Moment
While Barkley and O’Neal jokingly trade barbs almost every time they’re on television, we get some wholesome moments as well. In a clip from the Shaq docuseries which came out in 2022, the big man spoke about the regrets he had over cheating on his wife. It led to a sentimental moment between Barkley and O’Neal, as the former sang the latter’s praises.
“So, me and Shaq have known each other for a long time. His mom’s one of the greatest people. And my mom’s great and Ms. Martha’s great. But people, we have so much fun on this show… I tell people, you are, first of all, we all make mistakes. But you are one of the most genuine people, one of the most fun people I’ve ever been around. Obviously, the basketball stuff goes without saying, you one of the greatest to ever do it… You’ve had an amazing life and I’m glad to share it with you.”
O’Neal then went over to hug Barkley and kissed the top of his head. Barkley stated that it is amusing to him that people wonder about whether there is beef between them. He made it clear they just mess with each other from time to time, and that is all.
Shaquille O’Neal And Charles Barkley’s Mothers Brokered The Friendship Between Them
Barkley and O’Neal weren’t always on such great terms, of course. The two had an infamous fight on the court in 1999, and ironically, that led to them becoming friends, as O’Neal and Barkley’s mothers teamed up to fix their friendship.
“Charles’ mother and my mother have been best friends for 15, 20 years. I never knew that. So the time that me and Barkley had a fight, when I got to the locker room, my mother was on the phone and Charles’ mother was on the phone.”
“Charles’ mother was like, ‘Don’t you hit my boy. I was like, ‘Who is this?’ She was like, It’s Charles’ mom. Oh, hello, ma’am. How are you doing? You all don’t need to be fighting. I just talked to Charles. He going to meet you in the hallway. You all hug it out and you all stop that.”
O’Neal stated that they now have the same kind of relationship that their mothers have. The 51-year-old also shared that he loves Barkley as an older brother.
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