Not long after Charles Barkley got mad about Inside the NBA’s sporadic schedule, our favorite quartet was back on ESPN. And once again the same team is causing Shaquille O’Neal to butt heads with his colleagues. Fans of the Inside Guys might recall how amused Chuck was when Shaq forgot who coaches what team. Well, now Shaq and the Detroit Pistons get to turn the tables.

Right after the Pistons routed the Sacramento Kings by a 139-116 blowout, the Eastern Conference standings became a fiery debate in Studio J. While the crew was initially discussing the Boston Celtics’ hierarchy, the conversation took a sharp turn when O’Neal accused his colleagues of overlooking one of the East’s most improved teams.

“[Jayson] Tatum is the number one option, but Mr. [Jaylen] Brown is a player. Now he has to triple green light,” O’Neal began before abruptly pivoting to the Pistons. “But I don’t believe y’all sitting up here disrespecting the Detroit Pistons like that.”

In one statement, Shaq had both Chuck and Kenny “The Jet” Smith riled up. They refused to accept the implication they disrespected the Pistons. Chuck even defended himself by claiming, “We’re not disrespecting them.” As Kenny attempted to intervene, O’Neal doubled down, shouting, “Well, you ain’t mention their name!”

Chuckster, who kind of likes the Pistons, eventually conceded that they have a “really good team” but with a caveat. “They gonna have to prove it to me in the playoffs.”

The Big Fella usually doesn’t get a word in before they cut to commercial but this he clapped back, “They proving it now, Chuck!” And he got to drive home his point with the Pistons-King highlight reel. Ron Holland’s aggressive defense, which got him ejected today, was one of the factors supporting Shaq’s point.

The Pistons are indeed an improved bunch. They were in the 2024-25 season too. But that time Shaq’s stance was very, very different. And the irony of Shaq’s reversal on Detroit was not lost on anyone watching.

Detroit hasn’t forgotten Shaquille O’Neal’s slight

In typical Big Diesel fashion, his hilarity spurred an entire team to prove him wrong. Shaquille O’Neal can’t even pretend he’s always been on the Pistons bandwagon when he’s been critical of that team ever since they beat the Shaq & Kobe Lakers 4-1 in the 2004 Finals. 

His personal beef with the entirety of Detroit peeked in 2025. At that time the team had sparked a turnaround from the horrid 2023-24 to become a major playoff contender in the East. Charles Barkley spent most of 2025 claiming that the Pistons deserve a lot more appreciation for a high level of effort and praised players like Isaiah Stewart.

And Shaq?

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In an attempt to praise them, he mistakenly credited their head coach, “Chauncey Billups,” for the transformation. A few months later Billups, who was the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, was arrested on gambling allegations and put on administrative leave. So no way Shaq can forget what team he coached anymore.

But the Pistons clapped back with a throwback to the 2004 finals and said, “Nothing new here.” The backlash made Shaq double down on his previous opinions about the Pistons, claiming he “I don’t want Detroit,” and called them “boring,”

He was harsher on The Big Podcast and made himself an enemy of Motor City. Meanwhile, Sir Charles is taking an uncharacteristically measured stance.

Last year, the Pistons fell a little short of the playoff force many projected them to be. Now that the Pistons have emerged as the top seed in the East, he wants to reserve judgment on them for the playoffs.

The exchange highlighted a growing rift among the Inside Guys regarding Detroit’s legitimacy as a postseason threat. The Pistons, now 37-29, could give Shaq to actually watch them beyond the highlights.