Shaquille O'Neal calls Charles Barkley 'the older brother I never had'
TNT’s Inside the NBA may be done for the season, but that didn’t stop us from getting a heartwarming moment between Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley on Sunday night. The lovable duo appeared on NBA TV’s pregame show in Denver ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals, and Shaq had plenty of nice things to say about his partner in crime, calling Barkley “the older brother I never had.” It turns out O’Neal and Barkley were connected even before their friendship grew on television. “His mom and my mom had the sweetest friendship, and I didn’t even know,” O’Neal said. “I used to hate Charles. We were getting ready to get into a fight, and before I could get to the locker room and put my clothes on to go down to the locker room and see him, I get a call from his mother… who said ‘don’t you hit my boy’ and I was like ‘who is this?’”
Source: Sports Illustrated
Source: Sports Illustrated
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Barry Jackson @flasportsbuzz
NEW: Charles Barkley on the Heat’s only chance to win Finals, and the lineup change he would look at making. And five other network analysts opine on Heat, where they stand after Game 1: miamiherald.com/sports/spt-col… – 2:06 PM
NEW: Charles Barkley on the Heat’s only chance to win Finals, and the lineup change he would look at making. And five other network analysts opine on Heat, where they stand after Game 1: miamiherald.com/sports/spt-col… – 2:06 PM
More on this storyline
NBA on TNT: Chuck and @SHAQ have a special bond 
🎥 @NBATV -via Twitter / June 5, 2023
🎥 @NBATV -via Twitter / June 5, 2023
BasketNews: Nikola Jokic is the FIRST NON-LAKER center to have 40/10 in the NBA finals 😮 #NBAFinals 🇷🇸 Nikola Jokic 🇺🇸 Shaquille O’Neal 🇺🇸 Wilt Chamberlain 🇺🇸 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pic.twitter.com/9UYI9c08yU -via Twitter @BasketNews_com / June 5, 2023
“I’m happy that happened, but every time I see my young fella, he’s not with us anymore, it kind of makes me sad,” O’Neal said. “Shoutout to his mom and dad, we talk all the time, his sisters. Of course it was a happy moment, but if I could trade that moment and have him sitting here with us, or be able to text him and say ‘Look, Kobe, can you believe this happened 23 years ago?’ That would be better for me.” -via Larry Brown Sports / June 4, 2023
Dan LeBatard Show: “We love each other, truly…I grew up with two older sisters and this is as close as I’ll ever come to having brothers.” – Ernie Johnson ( @TurnerSportsEJ ) describes the special bond between he, Shaq, Charles, & Kenny plus much more on this week’s -via Twitter / June 2, 2023
The NBA on TNT may have officially went on summer vacation Monday night after the Miami Heat finished off the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, but Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal aren’t done just yet. Although the NBA Finals are aired by ESPN on ABC, NBA TV offers its own pre and postgame coverage. That’s slated to feature rotating contributions from Barkley, O’Neal and Smith this season. NBA TV is owned by the NBA, but operated by TNT’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, which explains why they’re able to pluck Barkley, O’Neal and Smith for their Finals coverage. -via Awful Announcing / May 31, 2023