One of the most dominant players in NBA history, Shaquille O’Neal is not someone you wanna be caught in a fight with. That is something his friend and long-term TNT colleague Charles Barkley knew from his playing days. Despite that, O’Neal and Barkley got into a match of arm wrestling in 2018.
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The World Arm Wrestling League featured a segment on the NBA on TNT show, igniting a spirited arm wrestling match between the two basketball legends. In a highly anticipated showdown, Shaq demonstrated his superior strength by swiftly overpowering Barkley in a mere two seconds.
Shaquille O’Neal is a worthy adversary even for the strongest of men. The NBA legend was a force of nature in his heyday and can still take on people half his age. That was evident in the way he defeated Charles Barkley in the arm wrestling match. Even before the match began, O’Neal looked pumped up and could not wait to showcase his strength.
Shaq often talks about how his strength and size made him one of the best players in the league’s history. As a matter of fact, Shaq believes that he is the most dominant player to ever play in the NBA.
Regardless, the incident took place back in 2018, 19 years after O’Neal and Barkley first fought on the court. While Barkley proved to be an easy opponent for Shaq, he was no match for the professionals who had participated in the segment.
Charles Barkley was a feisty competitor on-court
While Shaq might have been one of the most dominant, Barkley himself had a feisty career and regularly got into fistfights during his career. His fight with O’Neal threatened to get violent. However, there were plenty of times when the Round Mound of Rebound got into proper physical altercations.
A 26-year-old Barkley once got into a brawl with former Pistons player Bill Laimbeer. Barkley was also guilty of spitting at Patrick Ewing and squaring up to the 7-foot forward.
While Barkley might not be the strongest, he never shied away from altercations and would regularly take on players who were bigger than himself. Of course, his off-court persona has always been far different, and Barkley is one of the most hilarious basketball TV personalities of all time.
