Credits: Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; TNT broadcaster Shaquille O’Neal (left) and Charles Barkley talk during the 2013 NBA All-Star slam dunk contest at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Last week’s Inside The NBA was not so great for Charles Barkley as the former 76ers star had to be escorted off the set. The Chuckster seemed to have caught the flu before the show’s shooting, cause by the time the cameras were rolling, Sir Charles was not looking good.

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It didn’t take long before Shaquille O’Neal started poking fun at his sick colleague. During the season opener of The Big Podcast with Shaq, the first thing the Lakers legend talked about was Barkley’s sickness. Talking to his new co-host, Adam Lefkoe, Shaq said,

“If Barkley got me sick I am going to smack the sh*t out his a**. Did you see him last night?”

Shaq would proceed to show a clip from last night’s episode of Inside The NBA, during the podcast. Barkley who was the center of attention during the clip, looked visibly sick. The Chuckster being sick seemed to kick Shaq, as O’Neal couldn’t wipe the smile off his face during the segment.

It wasn’t all heartless laughter from Shaq’s side as he was the first to point out Barkley’s sickness on the show. O’Neal would continue his friendly slander, telling his co-host “Go home you fool”.

The hilarious exchange between Barkley and Shaq clearly outlines the relationship the duo share. Throughout the years, on multiple occasions, the duo has been questioned about their malice towards each other. Both Shaq and Charles have very clearly pointed out that, their relationship off and on camera is different, as a lot of what they do is purely for entertainment purposes only.

Charles Barkley loves to get Shaq mad

Shaq sure got his fill of revenge against Barkley last week, as the roles are usually reversed. Barkley is usually the one poking fun at Shaq. The duo’s dynamic revolves around the very paradigm of Charles’ jokes about Shaq and Shaq’s response to him.

During an interview a few years ago, Barkley eventually revealed the reason behind his trolling ways. The 1993 MVP would reveal that Shaq had ” thin skin”, something that made O’Neal an easy target for the Philadelphia legend. Barkley seems to enjoy poking the bear, as he knows perfectly well that The Big Fella will respond. He further added,

“I’m gonna keep digging at him because I love to see him sweat.”

But during a recent episode of The Steam Room Podcast, Barkley did admit that things have indeed gone too far on more than one instance. Recalling the “one-two- back to one” episode, Barkley revealed that Barkley was pretty mad with the crew. Talking about the same, Barkley said,

” Shaq was so mad, he didn’t speak to us the rest of the night or the next day. He was really mad and I had to let it go ’cause once I realized once he flips the switch to mad, anything can happen.”

Regardless of how mad O’Neal gets, Ernie always manages to get things under control. Barkley and O’Neal sure pose a great difficulty when it comes to management, but surely make up for it in pure entertainment. The duo which has been together since 2011, seems to be going strong even now.