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“Charles Barkley, you sound stupid right now! I passed Dikembe Mutombo on the all-time blocks list!”: Shaquille O’Neal claimed he was a better shot blocker than Mutombo

Raahib Singh
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"Charles Barkley, you sound stupid right now! I passed Dikembe Mutombo on the all-time blocks list!": Shaquille O'Neal claimed he was a better shot blocker than Mutombo

Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal calls out Charles Barkley as he puts himself above Dikembe Mutombo on the blocks list

To make it big in the NBA, one not only needs to have the best offense, but also an excellent defense to along with it. We can see a clear example of the same this season itself. The Brooklyn Nets were supposed to be the league’s top offense, but they lacked defense. They got swept in the first round. On the other hand, the Boston Celtics were the top-rated defense and they used the same to turn their season around.

Defense is a key aspect for making sure any team succeeds and Charles Barkley was talking about the same before the Bucks-Celtics tip-off tonight. He made a bold claim that he doesn’t see the Bucks losing even a single game, which turned out to be so wrong.

Also Read: “Giannis is BY FAR the best and Celtics don’t stand a chance of winning one game”: Charles Barkley lives to regret his bold take just minutes after saying it on Inside the NBA

However, Chuck made a follow-up statement that did not sit right with Shaquille O’Neal.

Shaquille O’Neal talks about how he was a premier shot-blocker

Talking before the Bucks-Celtics game, Charles Barkley shared how he was always on the lookout for guys like Dikembe Mutombo or Hakeem Olajuwon and Giannis Antetokounmpo has the same effect on guys.

This offended Shaquille O’Neal, who believed himself to be an excellent shot-blocker as well. The Big Diesel went so far to claim that he’s higher than Mutombo on the all-time blocks list.

Also Read: “I spent $1 million in just 30 minutes!”: When Shaquille O’Neal spoke about his spending problem as NBA star, and the incident that made him change drastically

Shaq talked about how offense wins titles, not just defense. As we all know, O’Neal was one of the best scorers of his time, and no one can argue with that.

Sure enough, the TNT crew cleared the confusion soon. They showed a tweet saying how Shaq is #8 on the list, whereas Dikembe Mutombo is #2. O’Neal being himself didn’t apologize for the wrong statement, instead, he stood by what he said.

About the author

Raahib Singh

Raahib Singh

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Raahib Singh is an NBA Journalist and Content Strategist at The SportsRush. A Computer Science Engineer by qualification, Raahib's passion for sports drew him towards TSR. He started playing basketball at 14 and has been following the NBA since 2013. His entry into the basketball world perfectly coincided with Stephen Curry putting the league on notice. Having followed the league for a long time, he decided to use his knowledge to become a sportswriter with The SportsRush in 2020. Raahib loves to put up some shots in his spare time, watch Cricket, Formula 1, and/or read a nice thriller.

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