Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal get bewildered by TNT crew's slithery surprise: "I think its called a python"

The Inside the NBA on TNT hosted by Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson is a great source of both in-depth analysis and hilarious moments.

The four-man hosting crew usually provides fans with plenty of funny moments when they talk about the happenings around the league.

Another moment was added to their growing list of hilarious on-screen antics when a massive python was brought out, and they immediately freaked out, especially Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal.

As the huge snake was brought towards them, Barkley immediately sprang up from his seat to get away while O'Neal can be heard telling the reptile's handler to bring the animal over to Chuck.

After a while, Shaq also got up from his seat while Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith remained seated. Shaq walked over next to Barkley in front of the set and told him repeatedly to get closer. Meanwhile, Barkley kept voicing his disapproval.

"What kind of snake is that by the way?" Ernie Johnson asked while all this was happening, to which Charles Barkley replied "I think it's called a python, right?"

No one confirmed to Barkley if it was indeed a python, so Ernie asked one more time:

"What kind of a snake is that?" To which Kenny Smith hilariously responded, "It's a big one."

Ernie was the first and only member of the crew to pet the reptile before the handler walked away with it.

This hilarious Inside the NBA moment will certainly be one that fans will look back on fondly.

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Charles Barkley has been asked to stop one of his most famous running gags from co-hosting the Inside the NBA

Each member of the Inside the NBA team brings something unique to the table that compliments one another. That's one of the reasons why so many fans tune in to watch them talk about the league.

One of the things all four men can do is to make hilarious jokes that set off a chain of funny statements. If something ends up standing out, the crew will bring it back in succeeding episodes as a running gag.

Since becoming a host, one of Charles Barkley's favorite jokes to make is to target the ladies of San Antonio, Texas, home of the Spurs.

Specifically, he makes fun of their weight, calling them "big ole women."

At some point, the higher-ups that run Inside the NBA asked Barkley to put an end to this gag.

Charles Barkley later talked about being asked to stop in an interview with Grant & Danny at 106.7 The Fan.

"I mean, they won't even let me talk about San Antonio anymore when I'm always talking about their big ole women down in San Antonio." Barkley shared.

The former Houston Rockets forward then indicated that he was frustrated with being asked to stop.

"I'm like, 'First of all, I didn't call anybody personally fat in San Antonio. I was just joking around... We've been having fun with this for probably 10, 15 years and when we go to San Antonio the people are having a blast with it.'" [starting at the 07:31 mark]

While it might only be a joke to Charles, there are some people who are not amused and regardless of how he feels, he can no longer make jokes about it.