In 1999, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley had a nasty fight on the court, which had to be settled by their moms
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When one thinks of dominant players in the NBA, they often imagine Shaquille O’Neal. The 7’1, 325-lbs big man truly knew how to make his opponents squeal and run away from himself. However, there was one person who wasn’t intimidated by his big size at all. The 6’6 Round Mound of Rebound, Charles Barkley.
We know of them right now as two TNT analysts who love to pull pranks on each other and always get into silly quarrels. However, this is nothing new. Before they did it in the TNT studios, their quarrels hit the NBA floors.
The two men have faced each other off 19 times in their NBA career, with Shaq holding an 11-8 edge. He also has a 3-1 advantage when it comes to their playoff matchups. In 1999, a quarrel between the 7’1 big and the 6’6 forward got so intense, unexpected parties had to come in and solve the matter.
Also Read: 6’6″ Charles Barkley claimed Tim Duncan as Best Power Forward, talks about why he has more points
Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal’s moms had to step in and squash the beef
In 1999, the Los Angeles Lakers were visiting the Houston Rockets. The game was very intense, and tensions were high. During a possession, Shaq blocked Chuck’s shot, which Barkley felt was a foul, but there was none called. Mad at the decision, and at Shaq, Chuck threw the ball at Shaq’s head. This led to an intense brawl.
Describing the incident, Chuck said,
“I pride myself on being a quick thinker. We got tangled up. I pushed him. He pushed me. I said, ‘Well, there 20,000 people here. I can’t let him do that (expletive) and get away with it. They gonna break up the thing quickly. So, I hit him, and we went at it.
Charles Barkley then described who disciplined the two of them: their moms.
“They both called in the locker room after the game and cursed us out. And, we went out to dinner that night.”
Also Read: Shaquille O’Neal’s teammate lost his $110 million in earnings due to terrible decision-making
Despite all their fights, the two men are really close, and have a strong bond. I guess it’s a good thing both their mothers interfered when they did, or else Inside the NBA wouldn’t have been the same as it is.
