Shaquille O’Neal on Charles Barkley Retiring: ‘I Don’t Believe That’

In a recent interview, Shaquille O'Neal expressed his lack of belief in Charles Barkley's claim that this will be his final season on the popular studio show Inside the NBA. O'Neal made this statement to Front Office Sports Tonight's Bridget Condon, emphasizing that he doesn't believe Barkley's announcement of retirement. O'Neal's skepticism is not unfounded, as Barkley has a history of making retirement plans only to return to the show he's been a part of since 2000.

The most recent instance of Barkley announcing his retirement came during the 2024 playoffs when he stated that the following season would be his last on TV due to TNT losing its portion of the league's rights package. However, Barkley soon returned to Inside the NBA when TNT reached an agreement with ESPN to license the show. In exchange for the show's rights, Barkley had publicly called for more appearances and early-season games during the upcoming season.

Despite Barkley's earlier retirement announcement, ESPN recently revealed plans to expand Inside the NBA's schedule to 25 appearances and include more early-season games. Barkley had advocated for these changes before, aligning himself with the show's longtime host, Ernie Johnson. However, Barkley stated in September that unless Johnson changes his retirement plans, he would follow suit, referring to Johnson and Johnson as a "package deal."

When asked by Condon if he believes Inside the NBA could survive without Barkley, O'Neal firmly stated, "No." Yet, when discussing the possibility of ESPN fulfilling Barkley's wish for an expanded schedule, O'Neal took a different approach. He said, "Charles, shut your face," before adding, "ESPN, I love you guys."