“Don’t Play With Me, I Got 4 Degrees!”: Shaquille O’Neal Humbles Charles Barkley, Flexes His Knowledge in Spelling Bee

Inside the NBA has been on-air since 1989. The show gives great insight into the NBA and everything that’s happening around it. They got Charles Barkley on board after he retired from the NBA. After that, their biggest addition was signing Shaquille O’Neal just before the 2011-12 season.

Shaq and Chuck have had their battles on the NBA floor. They work well together on the show, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have fun with each other. Shaq and Barkley keep pulling each other’s legs and making fun whenever they get a chance.

A few weeks ago, Charles Barkley was talking about the games that night and called them spectacular. Shaq asked Chuck to spell it.

Chuck couldn’t spell it, bringing a whole Spelling Bee segment last week.

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Shaquille O’Neal successfully spells his word, flexes degrees

Shaquille O’Neal is a huge competitor through and through. The man does not like to lose, and he does all he can to avoid the same. When Ernie declared that there was a Spelling Bee contest on the show that night, Shaq was ready.

Ernie was the first to make it to the mic. He failed to spell ‘Delicatessen’. He almost had it right, but switched the final ‘e’ with an ‘a’. Shaq took the stage next, where he was asked to spell ‘Podiatrist’. O’Neal did not miss, and then said, “Don’t play with me, I got four degrees.”

Next up was Charles Barkley, who redeemed himself for the previous week’s blunder. He spelled ‘Penniless’ correctly. Then the 2021 National Spelling Bee Champion, Zaila Avant-Garde, worked her magic.

In the final round, Shaq and Chuck teamed up but failed to spell ‘Murraya’. Zaila spelled her word right and won the whole contest.

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Shaq and his four degrees

Shaquille O’Neal’s mother was always very insistent that her son finish college. Shaq had completed three years in college before he went to the NBA. In 2000, Shaq returned to LSU and finished his bachelor’s in General Studies, with a minor in Political Science. In 2005, Shaq completed his online MBA from the University of Pheonix. In 2012, Shaq received his educational doctorate from Barry University. He received an Ed.D degree in Human Resource Development for the topic “The Duality of Humor and Aggression in Leadership Styles”.

In 2009, Shaq also attended the Sportscaster U. training camp held at Syracuse University. He also has studied directing and cinematography with New York Film Academy’s Filmmaking Conservatory.

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