Charles Barkley has transitioned pretty well from a player to a TV presenter; he is a natural in front of the camera. Kids these days only know him as the funny one from The Inside Guys on TNT. But there is a Hall-of-Fame player behind that mellow façade, and that is the Chuckster.
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Barkley’s interviews when he was playing were gold. He never shied away from speaking his mind in front of a camera, and that’s why his commercials were pretty natural-looking too. A lot of athletes seem nervous or stiff in front of the camera, but not Barkley.
The Motley Crew asked Chuck to recite his lines from a commercial 30 years ago, to which he obliged. They played the first few seconds of the clip and asked him to say his lines. He did not skip a beat and said it exactly the way he said it all those years ago. Great memory power from the almost-governor of Alabama!
30 years later and Chuck’s still got it 🤣
The Fellas couldn’t believe Chuck remembered his lines from an old commercial pic.twitter.com/mVWZnUPJdt
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 13, 2023
Shaquille O’Neal is not impressed with the diction – He wanted to jump in with his line
The near-perfect rendition of the commercial had everyone in jubilation, except for one. Shaquille O’Neal, always the jealous one, had to jump in with his moment in the sun. “I am Kazam,” is all he had to say, saying it’s not hard to remember dialogues.
The full commercial for civilised society. pic.twitter.com/F6iotBcw0P
— Hoops Nostalgia (@HoopsNostalgia) January 13, 2023
Ernie Johnson was quick to jump in, saying, “We want to forget you were Kazam.” An appropriate counter for an unwarranted jump in Point, EJ. Chuck looked so proud when he said his lines, but was a little deflated with Shaq barging in. With EJ’s snappy counter, the frown was quickly turned upside down.
NBA Twitter cannot stop asking Shaq to step back – They want Charles Barkley to enjoy his moment
Big Diesel had to mock Charles Barkley in true hater fashion, but NBA Twitter was having none of it. They wanted Chuck to have his moment and are completely appreciative of it.
Shaq don’t step on Chucks moment. It’s not about you and remembering three simple words. This was a dissertation from 30 years ago. 30 years ago! Impressive! Let Chuck have his moment. He earned it.
— DP (@djpaetz) January 13, 2023
Ernie said “we trying to forget that” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
— yordan foole (@rs1188) January 14, 2023
One clip finally shows what the round mound really is: a smart alec who knows how to retain knowledge.
People make fun of chuck but he is smart
— John DiCesare (@onelegman) January 13, 2023
Shaq a hater 😂
— sc (@MrLevelUp_) January 13, 2023
Dam Ernie cooked Shaq pic.twitter.com/AkNjZPFrEy
— BeaucoupJ (@BeaucoupJ1) January 13, 2023
Shaq may have tried to be funny, but he unintentionally brought out the coldest line of the day from Ernie Johnson. Way to go, Chuck! You impressed me while Shaq had egg on his face. Bravo!