Charles Barkley jokingly warns ‘Inside the NBA’ crew about Shaquille O’Neal’s FBI connection

The NBA season may be only two days old, but Charles Barkley already appears to be in midseason form. During the first hour of Wednesday night’s “NBA Tip-Off” pregame show, Barkley appeared to surprise host Ernie Johnson with an unexpected revelation about Shaquille O’Neal.

Barkley suggested that O’Neal knows FBI Director Kash Patel, delivering the comment so casually that the entire “Inside the NBA” crew broke into laughter.

“Hey, Kenny. Should we be standing this close to Shaq?” Barkley asked.

Former Phoenix Suns player Charles Barkley sits courtside during an NBA Cup game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on Nov. 21, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

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Fellow NBA analyst Kenny Smith responded: “Why is that?”

“He’s been hanging out with Kash Patel,” Barkley explained. “That’s dangerous.”

“Oh!! Oh! Oh, I didn’t know you were gonna be going there,” Johnson said. “But I should have known you would.”

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley attend the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2024 on May 15, 2024, in New York City. (Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)

“Alright, Chuck,” O’Neal replied as he continued to laugh. “Alright, Chuck.”

For more than three decades, Ernie Johnson has hosted “Inside the NBA,” which originates from a television studio in Atlanta. Two-time NBA champion Kenny Smith joined the show in 1998, Barkley came aboard in 2000 and O’Neal became a permanent fixture in 2011.

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“I got your back, big fella,” Barkley said. “We can hang out with who the hell we want to.”

Barkley was hinting to Patel’s decision in September to name O’Neal an honorary FBI special agent.

FBI director Kash Patel speaks at a press conference announcing the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in connection with a federal investigation into sports betting and illegal gambling, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

“This session is historic – FBI was honored to be joined by one of the best supporters of law enforcement in the country -Shaq- who graduated with this session and became an honorary FBI Special Agent,” Patel wrote on Sept. 17, in a post to X.

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During his graduation ceremony, O’Neal joked that Barkley could be his first arrest. “Some of you will go back to your regular jobs, some of you will go to specialized training,” O’Neal said in a speech to the graduating class.

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“Some of you will go do what I do, be undercover. Well, I was undercover… But I just wanna say I appreciate you guys so much. Congratulations. I am not here for this; I am here for you… And if you see Charles Barkley, arrest him.”