Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal had another one of their classic moments on Inside the NBA today. The two were seen bickering over the NBA playoffs before Chuck took a deep cut at Shaq’s net worth. It brought the entire segment to a halt, as even O’Neal couldn’t contain his laughter over the revelation.
Advertisement
It all started when the crew was discussing playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference. They all agreed that the Detroit Pistons were the clear favorite as of now. But after that, things got murky, and Barkley wanted to mention a team that was playing above his expectations- the Charlotte Hornets.
This caused a playful argument between Barkley and O’Neal, as it was pointed out that the Hornets are 19-28 and in 11th place in the Conference. That led Chuck to make a daring statement about Charlotte.
“The Hornets are going to be in the playoffs,” Barkley stated.
It’s not the worst hot take ever heard. After all, the Hornets are playing excellent basketball right now, going 6-4 in their last ten. They also have a plus 1.3 point differential, which is better than three teams ahead of them in the standings.
However, Shaq wasn’t having it and said he’d bet “everything he’s got” that Barkley would be wrong. This led Chuck to dish out a hilarious roast on his co-host.
“Let me tell you something, you always talk about being a billionaire. I did some research, and you’re only worth about $700 million,” Barkley revealed. “Stop lying about the other $300 million.”
It was a hilarious exposure that got Shaq and even members of the production crew to audibly laugh in the background. The screen had to cut away as Ernie Johnson chuckled his way through the next segment about the NBA All-Star starters.
Barkley could end up being right about Charlotte. But his back-and-forth with Shaq shows exactly why fans love to watch the show. Chuck recently talked about how he’d like to be on TV more than ESPN is allowing them to be. Yet, that’s ultimately up to the network to decide how much airtime they receive.
It’s a shame in a sense. Inside the NBA used to operate with a much higher frequency, which would lead to more memorable moments like this. But now they’re fewer and far between, and we only get glimpses of the magical chemistry between the crew rather than a full view.
