Charles Barkley Cramped Up on ‘Inside the NBA’ and Needed a Massage From Shaq - Sports Illustrated

[massage]

“Damn, take me to dinner”


After midnight, Inside the NBA, already the most surreal studio show in sports, devolves into complete absurdity. Thursday night was a classic example.

Following Chris Paul’s interview at the conclusion of the thrilling Suns-Blazers game, Charles Barkley’s hamstring cramped up on him and he sprung out of his chair to try to shake it out. Shaquille O’Neal, sensing his colleague could use a little help, got up and started massaging Chuck’s upper thigh.

The progression of Shaq’s facial expressions is priceless. He goes from looking totally confused as to what’s happening, to mildly concerned, to laughing his ass off.

Of course, this being Inside the NBA, the moment led to several minutes of Ernie, Chuck and Shaq cracking jokes about the impromptu physical therapy session.

“Damn, take me to dinner,” Barkley said.

“Anybody got a pack of smokes?” Johnson added.

“The only thing I’m missing is the blue glove, huh?” Shaq said. “Chuck, this is gonna hurt me more than it's gonna hurt you.”

We’re used to seeing Shaq and Chuck antagonize each other on the show (how many times have you seen O’Neal glare across that big table at Barkley and say, “I’ll knock your ass out”?), but they really are buddies.

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(Just a quick note: No Hot Clicks on Monday. I’m going away for a long weekend.)

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