Barkley: Shaq ignored co-hosts for 2 days after '1, 2, back to 1' moment
TNT's "Inside the NBA" crew has provided viewers with plenty of memorable moments over the years, but a particularly notable one occurred in 2019 when Shaquille O'Neal delivered his infamous "it's supposed to be 1, 2, 3, not 1, 2, back to 1" line.
O'Neal's anger over not being able to get a word in during the segment was apparently very real, as Charles Barkley revealed to Sports Illustrated's Jimmy Traina.
"He didn't speak to us for two days," Barkley said. "He was that pissed. He didn't speak to us for two days. I'm not even exaggerating. The only time he talked is if we were on the air, and then he'd go back. Normally we sit around together and watch the game in the same room and shoot the shit the whole time. He was so mad about that. He was really serious about that, but we didn't care."
Barkley added: "The worst thing you can do to him is laugh at him."
Shaq vs. Chuck episode 253,739,088 💀 pic.twitter.com/PzPEhdYOWI
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 1, 2019
The future of "Inside the NBA" is in jeopardy, as reports have indicated that the NBA is expected to partner with Disney, NBC, and Amazon in its next media rights deal.
Barkley recently said that he's spoken to O'Neal, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith about potentially signing "Inside the NBA" to his production company and selling the show to another network if TNT loses its NBA rights.