The Hall of Fame duo of Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal have been friends for a very long time. They have also been in the sports media business together for the better part of a decade. The legendary duo now host the most popular basketball show on television, NBA on TNT. Known for their fun banter on and off-screen, Barkley recently revealed his act of chivalry despite Shaq being richer than him.

Shaq and Barkley’s relationship goes way back, as their mothers were best friends. In fact, Chuck once tried to stop his mother from spending the same kind of money as Shaq’s mother, citing his net worth not being in the same tax bracket as Shaq’s. Although this was a thing of the past, Chuck recently boasted about his chivalry over the 4x NBA champion.

Charles Barkley recalls his dinner with Shaquille O’Neal from back in their NBA days

On a recent episode of The Steam Room, Chuck talked about his relationship with Shaq and how their mothers made the two go for dinner. The long-time producer of Inside the NBA Tim Kiely was one of the guests on the show.

In a segment where fans get to ask questions to the hosts or the guests of the show, Kiely was asked about his idea of having a show headed by the dynamic duo of Shaq and Chuck. The producer recalled the NBA legends wrestling one another for fun in San Antonio. He said that the sight of them in San Antonio made him realize that the two will work wonders together on TV.

Adding to Kiely’s answer, Sir Charles said that people don’t understand that his relationship with the LA Lakers legend go way back. The 11x NBA All-Star said that their mothers were best friends even before the two joined the NBA.

Talking about the influence of their mothers, Chuck recalled going for dinner with Shaq because of their mothers. He revealed that after they had got into a fight during an NBA game, their mothers had summoned the two stars into the locker room. They ordered that the two young players go for dinner together, and being good sons, they complied with their mother’s wishes.

Meanwhile, Earnie Johnson was quick to ask, “Who paid?”[for the dinner]. In response, the Chuckster couldn’t help but boast about his chivalry. He declared, “I always pay, you know that.”

Although Chuck’s net worth pales in comparison to Shaq’s, he used this opportunity to boast over the Diesel.

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Barkley once urged his mother to not spend as much money as Shaq’s mother

Since their mothers were best friends for a long time, they would often go on vacations together. Chuck said, “I used to get mad at my mom because they would take like four or five vacations a year.” He would be surprised to see the bills from those vacations. Sir Charles recalled explaining to his mother that he doesn’t make the same amount of money as Shaq, urging her to not match the expenditure of her best friend. Talking further about Shaq, Chuck said that he enjoys “working with the big fella” and that the two have known each other for a very long time.

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