Shaquille O’Neal just loves bringing up some good old controversy. Of course, in most cases, he likes to make sure it doesn’t turn into serious beef. However, if it is harmless fun, he will always be up to no good, something that apparently extends to Charles Barkley’s very interesting story about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Sitting down with his fellow Laker legend for TNT’s ‘Tough Love,’ Shaq knew he had to bring up his fellow Inside the NBA analyst. The result? Beyond unexpected.
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Kareem has always known to have been a bit of a prickly figure during his time in the NBA. However, you’d always have thought that there was some level of exaggeration to the stories about him. And yet, as Shaquille O’Neal, the interviewer, uncovered, the stories about him couldn’t be any truer.
Shaquille O’Neal interviews Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, verifies Charles Barkley’s story of their first meeting
Charles Barkley is a former NBA player who seems to have the best stories from his time in the NBA. In fact, some of them are so funny that Shaquille O’Neal, like many in the NBA community, finds it hard to believe they are real in the first place.
So, when Charles Barkley said that the first time he and Kareem met, right before of the 1987 All-Star Game, he was promptly told off for even talking to him, Shaq simply had to fact-check it. And the results couldn’t be any funnier. Take a look at the tweet by NBA on TNT below.
“There are times I just couldn’t be bothered,” said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. “Now Charles is making me pay for that.”
When you hear stories of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar like this one, it’s easy to believe that there is a fair bit of exaggeration placed in it. After all, some of those tales seem downright unimaginable. So, the man openly agreeing with every detail of Barkley’s iteration is just a tad unexpected. That said, it’s unlikely anybody in the world would have it any other way.
And to be fair to him, Jabbar clearly has a softer side to him too.
Shaq once had a heart-to-heart with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Inside the NBA
Despite being Lakers legends, Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar couldn’t have been more different. Kareem was all about finesse. On the other hand, Shaq was all about brute strength. More importantly, however, is that O’Neal was a bit of a bombastic presence, while Jabbar loved to keep to himself. And so, they never quite spoke to each other.
This led Shaquille O’Neal to think that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was ashamed of him or just simply didn’t like him. So, in response, the former Bucks and Lakers star decided to have a little heart-to-heart on Inside the NBA, something you can take a look at in the tweet by NBA Central below.
This conversation is beyond adorable. It doesn’t wait a single second before touching your heart. It was the moment that both these men, along with the world at large, needed.
