Ball Around

Charles Barkley Takes Major Shot at Shaq's Legacy with Lakers

Matt Levine

Kim Klement-Imagn Images

One major conversation that dominates the NBA is how players compare with one another. It transcends eras and decades, continuing to this day as a prime talking point among players and fans.

During the 'Inside the NBA' show on Thursday, Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley got into it about the legacy of O'Neal. Barkley called O'Neal the third-best center in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers while also saying he is the second-best in the history of the Orlando Magic.

Barkley mentioned that former center Dwight Howard was better than O'Neal in both situations. This seemed to bother the big man and O'Neal responded in the best way that he could, calling out Barkley for not winning any rings.

“I’ve got more rings than you and [Dwight Howard] combined. And Wilt. I got more rings than all of y’all.”

This all comes back to the longtime beef between O'Neal and Howard. Since their playing days, O'Neal has felt that he had a leg up on Howard and he took that to criticize the center.

This all came to a head when the two started to continue the beef on social media. The NBA world was in a frenzy as two of the best centers in history were going at one another.

More BA news: Shaquille O'Neal Rips Dwight Howard, 'A Jokester Can't Take a Joke'

O'Neal and Barkley have also had their share of viral moments in the past. O'Neal loves to remind Barkley that he has never won a title, something that seems to bother the former forward.

All in all, this was a funny conversation between the two sides. Barkley knows that O'Neal is better than third all-time on the Lakers center list but he likes to push the buttons of O'Neal.

Howard may be better with the Magic but he also played more years in Orlando. These two players are some of the better of all-time and it's time that we stop putting them against one another.

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Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

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