Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley gave Marv Albert a tribute in the only way they could, by trolling each other while complimenting Albert.
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Marv Albert ended an extraordinary career calling games as he commentated for the last time during the Bucks win against the Atlanta Hawks in game six. Albert was a legendary commentator and his absence will felt during every NBA game as he left his mark on basketball through his voice.
Albert has called some exceptional games including those of Shaq and Charles Barkley and this is something the crew wanted to make sure he knew about.
You can listen to some of his most iconic calls here.
Charles Barkley Trolls Shaquille O’Neal While Paying Tribute To Marv Albert
The ‘Inside the NBA’ crew did a special segment after the Bucks and Hawks game to pay tribute to one of the game’s greatest commentators. Shaq in particular had a long segment where he spoke about just how much Albert had done for the game and him.
Joking around he’d say “Thank you for making me believe I was a great player even though I wasn’t” which was met by a quick “Amen brother” from Charles Barkley.
You can find the tribute here with Shaq and Chuck’s back and forth taking place at around the 4:57 mark of the video.
Regardless of the banter, it’s clear that Shaq and Chuck both have incredible respect for one of the NBA’s greatest commentators. Albert’s career spans 55 years and he’s commentated for all four major sports in the US, but he’s most notably known for what he did in the NBA.
Albert was the Knicks commentator during their championship runs in 1970 and 1973. He was also the commentator for five of Michael Jordan and the Bulls’ six championships.
Albert was asked by many people if he would ever consider making a return, but the long time commentator is firm in his decision and doesn’t seem to be wavering as he said:
“I think I’ll revert to doing it [announcing games] off the television set for my wife, as we were doing during lockdown and as a kid, my brothers and I would would do it with a crowd record in the background. That’d be the closest I would get to it. I’m ready to call it quits. I’ve said this before but the pandemic was kind of a rehearsal for retirement.”
The game bids you farewell and all the best Marv Albert.
