Charles Barkley has always been clear about his opinion when it comes to the idea of a Superteam. He despises the concept of superstars joining forces to win championships and Shaquille O’Neal being the inside NBA co-host could not stop himself from calling out Barkley’s hypocrisy.
Shaq trolled his friend Chuck for his hypocrisy and reminded him of his own decisions in the past. Barkley had taken a career decision in the past which makes it very hypocritical of him to despise superteams now that it has become more common in the league.
Shaquille O’Neal trolls Charles Barkley in expose story
Shaq posted a meme on his Instagram story directly trolling Charles and exposing him in a way. The meme featured Barkley, Scottie Pippen, and Hakeem Olajuwon, It represented Barkley’s move to the Houston Rockets in 1996, for $4.6 million a year which was raised to $9 million (equivalent to $16 million now) in his final year at Houston.
The Round Mound of Rebound had fired shots previously at Kevin Durant accusing him of joining Superteams to win rings. And now Shaquille seems to remind Barkley that he did the same when he joined an already star-studded Houston Rockets with names like Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
However, the Chuckster has a different view of his move to the Rocket. He believes that at the time he joined the Rockets, they could not be called a Superteam. He stated the reason was that all the star players in the team were past their prime and were nearing the end of their careers. Regarding the matter, he said, “It wasn’t a superteam because we were all 97 years old. If we got together when we were 30 it would have been a super team, we were all 40.”
To be fair here, Barkley joined the Rockets when he was 33, and Hakeem Olajuwon was the same age, whereas Scottie Pippen was 3 years younger than them, so Shaquille O’Neal seems to have the upper hand here.
Shaquille, and Barkley’s deep bonding despite live TV differences
Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley both make regular appearances at TNT’s Inside the NBA and are known for their playful banter and friendly arguments. However, both the legends share a deep bond between them off camera. Shaq and Chuck met each other for the first time when both men were called up for the 1992 Olympics to be a part of the “Dream Team.”
They quickly befriended each other and their friendship has grown over the years. In an interview in 2019, Shaq said that Barkley was like a brother to him and that they could talk about anything. Barkley also has the same amount of affection towards Shaq as he called him his best friend and said that he could not imagine his life without him.
Their friendship is also quite evident on Inside the NBA as both often tease each other but have mutual respect and affection. They can also be seen having each other’s back when one of them is criticized by others.
What do you think of Shaquille O’Neal’s trolling? Is Charles Barkley a hypocrite when it comes to Superteams? We’d love to know your thoughts, so please leave them in the comments section.
