“You were an All-American and didn’t start in college?!”: Charles Barkley goes at Shaquille O’Neal on Inside the NBA for not snagging a starting spot at LSU

Charles Barkley hilariously roasts Shaquille O’Neal for not being a starter during his freshman year at LSU in the ‘90s. 

Shaquille O’Neal was a force to be reckoned with on basketball hardwood well before he made his way to the NBA. His play with the LSU Fighting Tigers and of course, dominance all throughout high school, led to him being selected number one overall by the Orlando Magic in the 1992 NBA Draft. 

Two accomplishments Shaquille O’Neal had right off the bat was him winning Player of the Week in his first week in the NBA and also making the All-Star team in his rookie season.

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Though he established himself as a top tier center in the first few weeks he’d been in the league, he certainly had moments where he had to prove himself before receiving even more recognition than he already had. 

This came during his freshman year at LSU while being coached by legendary and long-time LSU head coach, Dale Brown. 

Charles Barkley goes off on Shaquille O’Neal for not starting in college. 

Shaquille O’Neal got off to a relatively slow start upon arriving at LSU in 1989. His freshman year saw him come off the bench and play behind Stanley Roberts. Shaq put up averages of 13.9 points and 12 rebounds a night while playing 28 minutes per game during his first year at uni.

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Charles Barkley, who looks for any and every opportunity to get at Shaq, called out the Lakers legend for not starting in his freshman season at LSU. Shaq would defend himself by claiming he started the next two seasons and also won the SEC championship all three years he was present on the Fighting Tigers. 

This is only partially true as Shaq did start in his sophomore and junior year but the Fighting Tigers only won one SEC championship in his time there and that was during his sophomore season. He averaged 27.6 and 14.7 rebounds in merely 3 extra minutes of playing time.