Shaquille O’Neal & Charles Barkley Under Investigation By Fans For Prejudice Against 1 NBA Team

When talking about the off-court talent that continues to entertain fans whenever an NBA game is not taking place, the two names mentioned the most are Shaquille O’Neal & Charles Barkley. For more than a decade now, the duo, along with co-hosts Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnosn Jr., have been on the ‘NBA on TNT’ show. Along with their quick wit and hilarious jabs at each other, they seldom shy away from making their true opinions known. One such opinion seems to have placed the former NBA duo under review.

A few hours ago, an X account by the name of ‘Let’s Talk Knicks’ uploaded a clip from a recent ‘NBA on TNT’ episode. In the clip, Charles Barkley highlighted his opinion that “I think the Pacers beat the Knicks (during the playoffs)”. Shaq, who was sitting across from his former on-court rival, wholeheartedly agreed. This X page criticized this opinion by stating, “First Shaq says Magic would sweep the Knicks now they are saying Knicks get bounced by the Pacers…”. They further wrote, “These guys really don’t like New York”.

It didn’t take long for people to find the comments section and share opinions on Shaq and Barkley’s viewpoints. One of them highlighted how the Lakers legend had praised the Knicks before the Celtics game, but then stated that they would lose to the Pacers despite their Celtics clash being a success.

Another individual followed the same example as the one above. He stated his belief that the duo was simply covering their tracks by making every possible outcome public. That way, who can accuse you of being wrong?

While some brought the contrasting nature between their current and previous opinions to the limelight, others chose to state how often Shaq and Barkley go wrong. One social media user highlighted how they had predicted the Celtics would sweep away the Knicks. The prediction, however, turned out to be false as the New York team took home the win by a score of 118-109.

Amongst the various critics, however, were also some people who came to the defense of the Lakers and 76ers legends. With the Pacers currently occupying the 6 seed on the points chart, they have a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. One individual, who is aware of the team’s offensive capability, knows that the same could pose a credible threat to the Knicks.

Another social media user also chose to jump on the defense wagon by providing his viewpoint on the dominating teams of this season.

Well, it’s quite certain in the punditry business that there will be a part of the fanbase that agrees and a part that has criticism towards anything one says. Seemingly, the New York Knicks have been a constant presence on Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley’s radar for quite some time now. This is not the first time they have held a negative opinion against them, and it certainly doesn’t look like the last.

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley held contrasting opinions about recent Knicks trades

In February 2024, the New York Knicks engaged in a set of trades as the deadline came closer. The team brought players like Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks into their fold in exchange for Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, and a couple of others. Discussing the trades on their ‘NBA on TNT’ show, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith praised the move and even went as far as to refer to the franchise as a prominent title contender.

“I think the Knicks did get better because I watched them play the Lakers the other night and all the Lakers did was take the ball out of [Jalen] Brunson’s hand and nobody else could make a shot,” said Barkley.

However, Shaquille O’Neal was not someone who was convinced of the Knicks’ newly gained offensive prowess just yet. “Why they over there blabbermouthing?” said Shaq. “Did it help the Knicks get better? Yes. Did it help win the championship? No. So it doesn’t matter”.

Shaq and Barkley’s changing opinions continue to highlight that the NBA world in itself is an ever-changing one. It’s hard to stick to one opinion about a team/player in such a dynamic place where only one thing remains constant: competition.

READ MORE: Shaquille O’Neal Wants To Strip Jontay Porter Of $650K After Adam Silver Threatens To Banish Raptors Star