Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal had another one of their classic moments on Wednesday’s edition of Inside the NBA. It played out in between their usual bickering, this time over the NBA playoffs. Chuck then took a deep cut at Shaq’s net worth. The exchange brought the entire segment to a halt, as even O’Neal couldn’t contain his laughter.
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The crew was discussing playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference, getting into a consensus that the Detroit Pistons were the clear favorite as of now. Things got murky after that, beginning with when Barkley mentioned a team that was playing above his expectations: the Charlotte Hornets.
A playful argument between Barkley and O’Neal ensued after 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,” he said.
It’s perhaps not the worst hot take ever heard. After all, the Hornets are playing excellent basketball right now, going 6-4 in their last 10 games. They also have a +1.3 points 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 said. “Stop lying about the other $300 million.”
The revelation got Shaq and even members of the production crew to laugh out loud. 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 for more duration than what ESPN is allowing them to be. Of course, that’s 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, producing 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.
