“Shaquille O’Neal Was Holding the Kings Back!”: Charles Barkley Names Big Diesel As the Reason Behind Sac-Town’s Playoff Drought

The Sacramento Kings are on a tear right now. They’ve won eight out of their last ten games, propelling them to the 2nd seed in the West. Playing hosts to the New York Knicks, the Kings played tonight’s game on National TV on TNT. Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and the rest of Inside the NBA crew were very excited to see this matchup.

Both teams headed into the game having a 6-1 record since the All-Star break. In the end, it was the Kings who emerged victorious, taking home a 122-117 victory.

The All-Star combo of Domatas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox proved to be too much for the Knicks to handle. Malik Monk provided a 19-point spark off the bench, helping Kings improve their home record to 21-13.

At the half-time break, the Inside the NBA crew talked about the biggest change that helped the Kings improve so much.

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Charles Barkley blames Shaquille O’Neal for the Kings’ struggle

Sitting at the 2nd seed right now, the Sacramento Kings look like a shoo-in for the Playoffs. Even though their berth hasn’t been locked yet, it seems very unlikely that they won’t qualify. When they do qualify this year, it will break a 16-year Playoff Drought dating back to 2007.

While talking about the Kings on the show, Charles Barkley pointed out a big reason behind their success. He said,

“Since Shaq owned the team, he was holding them back. He sold it for a fortune, and now look at them!”

Shaquille O’Neal became a part owner of the Sacramento Kings in 2013. Ever since he got a stake in the team, they were terrible, despite having talents like DeMarcus Cousins, De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and more.

However, he sold his stake in the team in August 2022, and well, look at them now huh?

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Can the Kings make a playoff run?

The Sacramento Kings are a very young and inexperienced team. They’re thriving right now, but things become different once you head into the post season. On their roster, the most playoff-experienced person is their head coach, Mike Brown. He’s turned the team around, but when it comes to playoffs, there is a lot more needed.

The Kings may make it past the first round, but it seems unlikely that they’d progress past the 2nd round. We’ll have to wait and see how things go, but this is my prediction for now.

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