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“Shaquille O’Neal and Demarcus Cousins? Not a lot of brain cells there”: When Charles Barkley hilariously roasted the ‘Big Aristotle’ and former Lakers star

Samir Mehdi
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“Size did not matter for Charles Barkley; he would go through you”: Shaq praises his NBAonTNT co-host for playing well above his height and succeeding

Charles Barkley once said that Shaquille O’Neal and DeMarcus Cousins together isn’t exactly a whole lot of brain cells put together. 

Charles Barkley made an incredibly seamless transition from being a loud-mouthed, no filter-having power forward in the NBA to being a loud-mouthed, no filter-having NBA analyst on TV. He fit right in with Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith and Ernie Johnson on ‘Inside the NBA’ and the cast was complete when Shaquille O’Neal made his way after retiring. 

There are several tropes and pseudo-storylines that the NBAonTNT cast loves to follow throughout the course of the show. Whether it’s Shaq bringing up his rings, Ernie playing the moderator role when things go off the rail, or Chuck taking about the ‘big ol’ women in Texas’; the lot of them love hitting audiences with throwbacks.

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One that has become quite popular over the decade is Charles Barkley roasting Shaq for not being smart enough. Of course, in reality, O’Neal is quite the smart and savvy man but Chuck has repeatedly went after the Lakers legend for sounding ‘dumb’. 

He doesn’t pull his punches when it comes to insulting Shaq as it’s understood it’s all in good fun and he most certainly didn’t pull them here in this particular NBAonTNT segment. 

Charles Barkley goes after Shaq and Cousins. 

Charles Barkley, upon seeing both Shaquille O’Neal and Demarcus Cousins on the NBA court together from the ‘Inside the NBA’ studio, hilariously said, “I’ll tell you what? It’s not a lot of brain cells in that shot.”

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Cousins is someone who’s also been cast as someone who isn’t particularly bright by the media and fans, which is quite unfortunate as we have no way of knowing this. However, it does make for a rather hilarious joke from Chuck in retrospect. 

Safe to say that Charles Barkley and Shaq will continue to go at one another, with Barkley winning this round of the 1000s they’ve had. 

About the author

Samir Mehdi

Samir Mehdi

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Samir Mehdi is a senior strategist for the NBA division at The Sportsrush. Ever since he was 13 years old, he’s been obsessed with the game of basketball. From watching Kobe Bryant’s highlights on YouTube to now, analyzing and breaking down every single game on League Pass, Samir’s passion for the game is unwavering. He's a complete basketball junkie who not only breaks down current games but also keenly watches ones from the 60s’ and 70s’ while also reading comprehensive books on the history of the league. Samir’s life revolves around basketball and he hopes that shows in his work. Aside from work, he loves to spend time in the gym and with his friends at social gatherings.

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