And once more, Shaq has a bone to pick with Bill Walton. The Big Redhead is widely regarded as one of the best centers in NBA history, except by Shaquille O’Neal. So when Charles Barkley casually namedropped him to give examples of Nikola Jokic’s skills as a center ahead of Game 2 between Denver and the Lakers, Shaq the hater struck again. However, Chuck was right there to defend his favorite.

Chuck was listing the best centers in the league’s history like Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he blurted Bill Walton between Bill Russell and Brad Daugherty. Amid the TNT gang talking over each other, Shaq pettily stated, “Bill Walton is trash.” His bestie knows his animosity with the Trail Blazers legend. So Chuck just told him to stop being a hater.

For context, they were discussing Jokic’s undeniable shooting and passing skills as a center. Barkley feels he could be counted in the same club as the best centers in the league at this rate. Shaq happens to like Jokic and the Big Man Alliance too much to include Walton in it.

Even though Kenny “The Jet” Smith admitted that Walton was a great passer, Shaq was not budging. Chuck, whose point was ruined by Shaq’s antics, scolded him to “stop being a hater Richard Petty.” Richard Petty has no connection to this. But Shaq’s one-sided beef with Walton goes way back.

Shaquille O’Neal’s longstanding beef with Bill Walton

O’Neal’s rivalry with Walton has a little to do with his image of the Big Man Alliance and his strict criteria for it. He believes that the 2x champion doesn’t deserve the same recognition as other legendary centers. Not only that, Shaq disagreed with Walton’s inclusion in the Hall of Fame and the NBA 75 list in 2022.

After an NBA career hampered by chronic foot injuries, Walton turned to a career in sportscasting. That’s when his feud with the reigning dominant center, Shaq, dragged on till the latter was a studio analyst himself. O’Neal threw jabs at him in the media, including on The Big Podcast earlier this year. “You know who I always had a problem with, Bill Walton. Because why? He only had 6,000 points in the NBA, like, really?” Shaq had said.

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Contrary to Shaq’s opinion, the larger NBA community reveres Walton. As Chuck and Kenny agreed, Walton was an instrumental player in Portland’s championship win. Very few can understand Shaq’s animosity because of that. Even Chuck. But one of the big man qualities also happens to be sticking to your opinion stubbornly. Ignoring Shaq’s beef with Bill Walton, do you agree with Chuck that Jokic has the talent of the legends?