Charles Barkley Can Finally Shut Shaquille O’Neal’s No-Ring Taunt Before Inside the NBA’s Final Chapter

Over the years, how many iterations of Charles Barkley not winning the ring have we heard on TNT? Shaq (4 rings) and Kenny Smith (2 rings) have long ribbed Barkley on-air for his ringless résumé. But it seems their contribution has also helped them a ring but also adds one to Barkley’s collection.

Ernie Johnson said, “We had a pretty cool moment here earlier tonight. The four of us and everybody on our crew. And wanted to share that with you real quick.” On the recent broadcast of Inside the NBA, we had a video about the gift that the network decided to give to the crew. A diamond ring, just like the ones any championship team would present to their players.

The ring’s crown displays the diamond-encircled Inside the NBA logo. One side features their name with 4 of their faces in Mount Rushmore style and a TNT logo below. On the other side, there are 35 seasons and accolades, 21 Sports Emmys with the inscription of the trophy as well. Even an emotional message written on the Inside. “Thank You for all the Blackberry Moments“. We also know that it was TNT’s idea to gift the 4 pillars and the crew this parting gift.

In the clip, Jostens VP Ryan Ford explained, “This is the concept that was approved by TNT. The four stars of the show have become the Mount Rushmore of NBA television. The entire show has earned 21 Emmys. What you can see and envisualize in something this big, you have to take it to scale so that it fits on the side of a ring.”

Indeed, Barkley finally owns a ring. It was the executives who made the decision, as per Ernie Johnson. “That was very nice. Luis Silberwasser, our boss Craig Barry, and Nate Smeltz all in here and presenting those.” To those who don’t know, Luis Silberwasser is Chairman and CEO of TNT Sports. Craig Barry is Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer for Turner Sports. In this role, Barry oversees Turner Sports’ remote and studio productions. Nate Smeltz. Senior Vice President, Global Communications and Talent Relations. Chuck made sure to thank them all during the broadcast.

“That was very kind of them. Thank y’all from the bottom of my heart.” Barkley finally wears a ring, though not the NBA title he’s long regretted missing.

Charles Barkley and his regret thanks to his former best friend, Michael Jordan

When Charles Barkley signed with the Phoenix Suns in the summer of 1992, few expected his first season in the desert to reshape NBA history. Yet under Coach Paul Westphal, Barkley powered the Suns to a 62–20 record—the league’s best mark—while posting 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists on 52.0% shooting over 76 games, performances that earned him the 1993 NBA MVP award.

Still, the ultimate prize eluded him. In the 1993 NBA Finals, Barkley’s Suns fell in six games to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, who secured the first three-peat in league history. On Club Shay Shay, Barkley confessed

“The only thing I ever felt bad about, to be honest with you, is I couldn’t win the Suns a championship.” Charles Barkley confessed to Shannon Sharpe in the episode of the Club Shay Shay Podcast. “Because in Philly, they had [three], in Houston, they had [two]. I have always felt bad that I wasn’t able to bring a championship to Phoenix because that’s my home.” It was the destiny, and Michael Jordan, who won instead and did the first three-peat in Bulls history in 1993.

That Finals loss was especially bitter because it came at the hands of his closest rival and, off-court, his longtime friend. Barkley and Jordan first forged a bond on the 1992 Dream Team, where daily scrimmages in Barcelona bred mutual respect, even as they pushed each other to elite levels.

Their friendship endured until 2010, when Barkley publicly criticized Jordan’s performance as a Charlotte Bobcats executive. An attack Jordan “took personally,” according to ESPN’s coverage of the fallout. Even though he couldn’t win the ring then, he gets one now. Now, as Inside the NBA closes its TNT chapter, that same Jostens, who crafted the Bulls’ 1993 championship rings, has finally bestowed Barkley with his own piece of jewelry. In a poetic twist, the ringmaker that once celebrated Jordan’s Bull dynasty has crowned Barkley, at long last, with the one accolade he’s long regretted missing.