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Way before entertaining fans with their chemistry and banter on "Inside the NBA," Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley had an iconic moment on the court. When they were still active in the league, both big men had an on-court incident that led to their mothers getting involved.
In 1999, the league looked different. O'Neal was in his prime and on his way to starting a three-peat with the LA Lakers. Barkley, on the other hand, was years removed from his prime and was just a shell of his old self. However, he was still competitive as he played for the Houston Rockets.
During the game, Barkley was going up for a shot near the basket when he was fouled by Brian Shaw. O'Neal, meanwhile, tried to block him while the foul was being called. O'Neal proceeded to push Barkley, to which he retaliated by throwing the basketball at the 7-foot-1 center.
The iconic brawl between the two legends started after that, with Barkley in a headlock by the Lakers legend.
Based on Shaq's account, the mother of the Round Mound of Rebound called him over the phone, demanding an apology. The Diesel's mother was also on the call to make sure her son apologized. Neither of the players knew that their mothers were well-acquianted.
From that point, both big men became close friends. Even after retiring from the NBA, both O'Neal and Barkley became closely linked with each other after O'Neal joined "Inside the NBA" in 2011.
"As soon as I get to the thing, Jerome handed me the phone," Shaq realled. "I hear this lady's voice I've never heard before, 'You better not put your hands on my baby!' I was like, 'Who's this?' 'It's Mama Barkley.' ... And his mom and my mom was on three-way, 'Don't you know we've been bestfriends for 20-30 years?!'"
The three regrets of Shaquille O'Neal's NBA career
Shaquille O'Neal is one of the most recognizable personalities in the world of professional sports. O'Neal's dominance on the court is well known, and his acting gigs have also helped his rise to fame. In an article by Sports Illustrated, Shaq listed three things that he regrets not achieving in the NBA.
The four-time champion said that missing over 5,000 free throws is one of his major regrets. He wasn't known to be a reliable shooter from the charity stripe (52.7%), which is why the "Hack-a-Shaq" tactic was used by opposing teams. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich even pranked O'Neal with this tactic.
The other two are related to his placement on the scoring list. The 15-time All-Star regrets not passing Wilt Chamberlain on the list. He also regrets not finishing higher. O'Neal finished with 28,596, which is good enough for eighth place. Chamberlain, meanwhile, had 31,419 in his 14-year career.
Also read: Shaquille O'Neal admits dealing with pressure getting compared to legends: "I was just thinking about winning championships…I was compared to Bill, Wilt & Kareem”
