Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are the stars of Inside the NBA on TNT. After their retirement, they joined Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith. Barkley and Smith have been a part of TNT for about two decades now.

The four put up tremendous entertainment. Moreover, Shaq and Chuck are absolutely hilarious on the show. Both of them are on the best of terms now. However, there was a time when the two were not even friends.

In 1999, we saw how ‘unfriendly’ Shaq and Chuck were in their playing days. The duo were of different generations and never really crossed paths in a friendly atmosphere. Being on opposite teams, a competitive spirit always took over. Throwback to 2007, when Inside the NBA took us to 1999.

During the game, the ref blew the whistle and called a foul. But Shaq still came to block Chuck when he was in possession. Chuck was annoyed by this and threw the ball at Shaq for unnecessary contact. Things got heated super quick. Shaq got furious. He immediately started to throw his hands. He threw a punch at Barkley but Chuck impressively ducked to his right making Shaq miss his left punch.

After that Shaq tried to use his right hand but he was held by other players who tried to contain the situation. Both Shaq and Chuck were kind of imbalanced at that point. This was when Chuck pushed himself on Shaq and sent him to the ground so that Shaq does not get the chance to take a swing at him again.

Charles Barkley Finally Admits Why Shaquille O’Neal Hates His Guts

In 2007, Shaq was on TNT as a guest and did not yet have a job as an analyst. Nonetheless, the four of them talked about the fight. They all had fun remembering and broke into laughter seeing the replays and slow-motion from different angles of the intense altercation. Things got funnier when Chuck imitated his duck to his right and Kenny helped him with it. 

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley’s strong friendship

Not only during the showdown in the middle of the game in 1999, but Shaq had problems with Chuck even after he had retired. Not long after Charles Barkley retired, he became an analyst for TNT. Shaq didn’t like whenever Barkley criticized Shaq’s game. But following his mother’s advice, he found the motivation to get better in those criticisms.

Now Shaq is a long time host of Inside the NBA on TNT, and the friendship between Shaq and Chuck has grown into a wholesome, hilarious brotherhood bond.

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WATCH THIS STORY: 5 times Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal had Heated Fights on Inside the NBA

All through their healthy banter, hilarious roasts, mean pranks, heated arguments and wholesome admiration, the duo are best of friends. In fact, both consider each other brothers. Shaq has often said that Chuck is his elder brother. Their friendship is something we all love to see.