Somebody check the calendars. Cupid is ahead of schedule in TNT’s Studio J. His targets? Shaquille O’Neal and his notorious co-host Charles Barkley. The Inside Guys decided to show each other some uncharacteristic respect during the recent broadcast. That is a rare sight that we have not witnessed often, but co-host Ernie Johnson managed to pull out the words from the famous duo. We do not know how many more months or even years it’s going to take for something like this to happen again. So savor it! 

Although O’Neal would go 1-on-1 for a fistfight with Chuck now, he had immense respect for the 1993 NBA MVP back during his young years. The Los Angeles Lakers legend also revealed that Barkley was someone he looked up to and he would sneak into the back after games just to meet him.

Shaq shared, “I know that feeling…first time I met him…I used to sneak into the back of the game and I met Charles.” This was the first time the bigs met. Big Diesel said to Barkley on their first meeting, “My name is Shaq, I’m about to go to LA soon”. 

Barkley’s perspective of meeting O’Neal for the first time was hilarious but still respectable. The Phoenix Suns legend was just stunned to see the 7 footer. Shaq was one of the most fluid giants in the league back then. So fluid that it almost made Barkley retire. Sir Charles added, “First time we saw you, we were being like, ‘Yeah it’s time to retire’. Nobody should be that big, that fast, that athletic.” Let’s take a look into how their first few match ups went. 

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley had one of the most iconic match ups

Although Barkley was an idol to Shaq, he wanted to put out a message to the Round Mound of Rebound. The TNT duo matched against each other for the first time in December, 1992. Chuck and his Suns escaped with a 1-point victory over the Magic but O’Neal thoroughly dominated. Big Diesel tallied 26 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks while Barkley collected 18 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Their second match up, somehow, was even more spectacular.

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February 7, 1993 and all hell broke loose after the rookie O’Neal broke a back board. Shaq’s powerful putback dunk plunged the backboard as the entire Phoenix crowd went into disbelief. The Magic center dropped an impressive 20 points and 5 rebound in his second game against Barkley, but it was not enough to get the best of his idol.

The 1993 Suns were a tough team to beat and Charles Barkley, as always, led his team to a 19 point win by securing 28 points, 19 rebounds and 5 assists. But Shaquille O’Neal did manage to send out a pretty clear message about his disruptive potential in the league.

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