After appearing in one of the most intense and fierce games of the season, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic joined the NBA on TNT crew. The Slovenian international talked about the upcoming All-Star game, his NBA experience so far and also about the viral moment from his team’s 132-109 loss against the Phoenix Suns, where he got a fan thrown out of the arena for talking trash. Shaquille O’Neal, in his usual humorous nature, tried to teach Doncic how to handle such a situation.
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The Mavs star on the TNT show claimed that it was the emotions, which caught him and he shouldn’t have done, what he did. He said,
“It was the whole game. I was really frustrated that we were losing. I twisted my ankle in the first half and it was just a lot of emotions. But probably shouldn’t have done that. I was wrong. But it was just the whole game.”
A Suns fan allegedly told Doncic, “Luka, you’re tired! Get your a*s on the treadmill!” The Mavericks superstar complained to the referee, and the fan was escorted out of the arena.
Doncic also had a verbal altercation with ESPN reporter Tim McMahon, who posted a video of the incident between the guard and the fan. He said,
“That wasn’t the only thing he [the fan], said, but I knew you would be the first one to… put out something like that. It’s just funny, you always seem to be the first one to put out bad stuff about me.”
Shaquille O’Neal, who is no stranger to getting into tiffs with fans and reporters, wanted to give Doncic a demonstration on how to deal with heckling fans. He charged at Charles Barkley to showcase his solution to deal with hecklers, prompting the Hall of Famer to duck and rush behind the Mavericks superstar to take cover and save himself from his co-host.
This wasn’t the first time Doncic had gotten into a verbal altercation during a game against the Suns. Last year, the Mavericks superstar and Devin Booker got into a skirmish in the final seconds of a game in Dallas. Doncic took exception with the Suns guard’s verbal jibe after he missed the game-tying shot and the duo got began arguing, prompting the referees and their teammates to step in and defuse the situation.
Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley’s hilarious fights
Before Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley became co-workers and developed a strong bond, they were fierce competitors battling for supremacy in the Western Conference. During a game in 1999 between the Suns and Los Angeles Lakers, their competitive spirit boiled over, and the duo had a physical altercation on the court.
Since they began working side-by-side on Inside the NBA, O’Neal and Barkley have fought multiple times. However, they’ve always been playful. During a segment on Inside the NBA in 2017, analyst Kenny Smith demonstrated how players can exploit mismatches. When he drove to the basket, O’Neal shoulder-checked Smith, and Barkley hilariously punched the big man and took off running.
Two months ago, the Inside the NBA crew discussed Draymond Green choking out Rudy Gobert during an in-game altercation. After the segment, O’Neal stood up claiming he wanted to hug Smith. However, he hilariously put Barkley in a chokehold.
O’Neal and Barkley’s banter is the stuff of legends. The duo’s chemistry is impeccable, and they produce incredible content for fans to savor.
