Charles Barkley prods Shaq on ‘Inside the NBA’ set in leaked TNT footage

“I don’t get mad, brother,” Shaq told Charles Barkley during a back-and-fourth on the set of 'Inside the NBA' that ended up circulating on social media.

Former NBA greats Shaquille O'Neal (left) and Charles Barkley are known for going after one another on TNT's "Inside the NBA."Read moreTNT

by Rob Tornoe

Published Feb. 21, 2024, 2:46 p.m. ET

Is NBA Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal upset at his network for not airing his jersey retirement ceremony live?

The Orlando Magic retired Shaq’s No. 32 jersey following the team’s Feb. 13 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, making him the first player in team history to have their jersey retired. The ceremony aired live in full on NBA TV, but not on TNT, where Shaq works, because the network had a doubleheader.

In five minutes of leaked footage from the set of Inside the NBA ahead of the All-Star game, Charles Barkley mentioned the supposed sore spot to Shaq, who called the former Sixers great “a snitch” for bringing it up.

“He says y’all didn’t give him any respect, it should’ve been on TNT,” Barkley said of the jersey ceremony to fellow Inside the NBA cohost Ernie Johnson.

“I don’t get mad, brother,” Shaq shot back, adding he wasn’t “complaining” when he discussed the situation with Barkley, whom he called “a company man.”

“Whatever the company tells him to do, he’s going to do,” Shaq said.

Barkley didn’t let up, joking that if the Boston Celtics retire Shaq’s jersey number, TNT should air that ceremony. Shaq played in Boston during the 2010-11 season, the final of his career, averaging just over nine points a game in 36 starts. Barkley also attempted to mock Shaq’s often-forgotten two-year stint with the Phoenix Suns, but the big man got the better of him.

“That was after my fourth championship, when you still have none,” Shaq said.

The video below includes explicit language.

It’s unclear how the footage ended up on social media. Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT, did not respond to a request for comment.

If anything, the footage reveals why Inside the NBA has been the gold standard for sports studio shows for three decades. Minus a few choice words that would’ve been bleeped off cable, the leaked footage could easily have been mistaken for the show itself, which often finds Shaq and Barkley prodding one another. In 2018, the two got into a similar fight that also involved Shaq roasting Barkley for his lack of an NBA championship — but that squabble aired live on TV, and didn’t involve as much cursing.

Shaq has said the relationship he has with Barkley mirrors the one his mother, Lucille, shares with Barkley’s mother, Charcey Glenn. During a 2021 episode of the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, Shaq revealed he didn’t know the two mothers were lifelong friends until a 1999 incident, when the two basketball stars got into a fight during a Los Angles Lakers-Houston Rockets game.

“Oh, there’s a swing by O’Neal! And they’ve got a brew-ha-ha on the field!” longtime NBA announcer Kevin Harlan said during the broadcast.

After the scuffle, Shaq said he got a call from his mom and Barkley’s mom, who colorfully told him to knock it off.

“When me and Charles have heated conversations, they think we don’t like each other,” Shaq told O’Brien. “But I finally saw his mom and my mom together playing cards, and it was the same thing. ‘You don’t know how to play no Spades!’ They were just talking trash.”

Shaq, Barkley, and the rest of the Inside the NBA crew will return to TV Thursday, when the NBA resumes its season following the All-Star break. The Sixers will face the New York Knicks on NBC Sports Philadelphia at 7 p.m., while TNT will air a doubleheader featuring the Phoenix Suns versus the Dallas Mavericks at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Golden State Warriors.

The Sixers will be on TNT Tuesday, when they travel to Boston to face the Celtics.