Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley may be the most dominant personalities in sports, but they also were a dominant on the court during their playing days.
The two even gotten into a fight on the court November 10, 1999.
During a play, Shaq bumped Chuck on the head. Barkley swung an elbow, with Shaq pushing him back.
Barkley threw a basketball in Shaq’s face, in retaliation, with Shaq throwing a punch in retaliation.
Both players were ejected from the game.
“I also didn’t think that was going to turn into a fight,” Charles Barkley said on a recent episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
“But first of of all, it was an NBA fight, so we fought like girls and it didn’t last very long.”
The Lakers won the game 89-88. Glen Rice led all Lakers players with 24 points and the Rockets’ Steve Francis had 24 points and 10 rebounds in the Houston loss.
“He was doing all that wild monkey [stuff], throwing [elbows], acting crazy,” O’Neal said back then.
“I think that was a tactic to get me out of the game, and it worked. I’ll probably have to be a little smarter next time, just wait to get him back later.”
Years later, Barkley says he had his pride to play for. “I wasn’t going to let him embarrass me in front of 18,000 people, so you have to fight at some point,” he told me.
“But I’m glad nobody got hurt because he’s a great friend and I enjoy working with him.”
