Shaquille O’Neal breaking backboards in the NBA might feel like yesterday, but the Los Angeles Lakers legend has long left his old ways of dominating other players. Over the last decade, the Big Aristotle has chosen instead to use his wit and charm to dominate players on national television, especially the Philadelphia 76ers legend Charles Barkley. The Shaq-Barkley banter has always captivated audiences over the years on the hit show Inside the NBA.

However, it seems like the Lakers legend has slowly started becoming more apologetic and softer as his age catches up with him. The Big Man has gone through some health issues in the past few weeks too. Hence, he returned to Inside the NBA just recently. However, his co-host Charles Barkley saw it as the right opportunity to take revenge for the years of constant taunts that the Lakers legend threw at him!

Charles Barkley picks up a fight against ‘recovery mode’ Shaquille O’Neal

Throughout the past few weeks, Shaquille O’Neal has gone through quite the health scare. The 51-year-old had fans worried last month when he tweeted out a picture of him lying on a hospital bed. However, fortunately, he dealt with fans’ concerns quickly to inform everyone that it was a hip replacement surgery.

Shaq returned to Inside the NBA with a happy face, but also a warmer attitude than usual. The Big Aristotle gave updates on his recovery while thanking his co-host Charles Barkley for guidance during the phase. Apparently, Barkley has had two BBL or Hip replacement surgeries, which helped him guide the Big Man through the extensive recovery. However, the message towards Chuckster did seem a little out of the blue!

Appropriately, the Chuckster saw it as an opportune moment to troll the 15-time All-Star. After revealing to everyone how he had undergone more of the painful surgeries, the 76ers legend got up from his seat feeling tougher than the Big Aristotle and walked towards the other side of the table where Shaq was seated.

“I wanna fight, let’s go,” said Barkley, “Let’s fight. You’ve been wanting to fight me for years.”?

Shaq immediately apologized to Barkley for a decade of trolling to avoid any confrontation. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. For everything I’ve done in 11 years, I’m sorry.” said Shaq with a smile on his face. He seemed unwilling to participate in one of the occasional tussles that play out on the show now and then, probably due to the pain he was facing in recovery.

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Barkley was elated as he clapped at the rare sight of an apologetic Shaquille O’Neal. The Big Aristotle was clearly going through a lot, something he even revealed to fans who were concerned about his health.

Shaq on dealing with surgery recovery

Following the Lakers legend’s revelation to fans of his BBL surgery, they poured in with a lot of questions on how their favorite basketball player was doing. One fan asked the Big Man if the surgery hurt him, to which the four-time NBA Champion replied with an honest affirmation.

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“Hell Yes” wrote Shaq. It might be the secret behind the Big Man’s polite demeanor in the studio following his return to Inside the NBA. One can’t predict as to when the Big Man will be back to his best, but one be sure that he’ll be ready to clap back at the Chuckster.