“Next time I see Isaiah Thomas’s kid, I’m punching him in his left eye!”: When Charles Barkley stood up for Shaq after IT4’s kid called him fat

Charles Barkley stands up for Shaquille O’Neal after Isaiah Thomas’s kids called the Lakers legend fat on NBAonTNT. 

Charles Barkley joining Ernie Johnson and Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith as a full-time NBA analyst on NBAonTNT was perhaps one of the greatest decisions ever made in sports media. For 22 years, Chuck has been on national television with no filter, calling out superstars in the league today while also having some of the wildest real-life takes possible. 

What completed the ‘Inside the NBA’ cast was when Shaquille O’Neal joined the set alongside Chuck, Ernie, and Kenny after retiring from the league following an Achilles rupture while with the Boston Celtics. Together, the duo of Charles Barkley and Shaq was unstoppable.

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Of course, the dynamic that they share is based entirely on them roasting one another. O’Neal hits Barkley with the ‘G-14 Classification’ every other night while Chuck has his rebuttal knee-deep in the argument that rings don’t mean much and how Shaq is just plain ol’ dumb. 

Rooted in the insults however, is a sense of brotherhood and that becomes very apparent with each gag and roast that comes on. 

Charles Barkley defends Shaq by threatening to a punch a child in his face. 

When it comes to saying wild things on television, no one does it better than Charles Barkley. Part of the reason as to why he’s said he would be leaving ‘Inside the NBA’ for good at age 60 is because he feels the tides turning in terms of what things that can and can’t be said in this new age of ‘wokeness’. 

Also read: “Recipes so easy even Charles Barkley could make them”: When Shaq roasted Chuck, while promoting his new cookbook on Stephen Colbert’s show

During a segment on the show, the cast shows Shaq a clip of Isaiah Thomas and his kids having dinner and one of his kids hilariously calling the 4x champ ‘fat’. 

This doesn’t sit well with Charles Barkley as he ‘lashes’ out at the statement and threatens to punch the kid in his face for making that comment. 

“We’re a team here at Turner Sports. Next time I see you little kid, I’m gonna punch you in your left eye. You don’t talk bad about Shaquille O’Neal. Listen kid, I’m gonna punch you in your left eye.” 

With the amount of times they’ve kissed one another, it’s safe to say that their camaderie is well warranted.