Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley went a combined 0-for-2 on the air this week.
On Tuesday’s episode of TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” O’Neal, Barkley, and the rest of the crew were debating the All-Star case for Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Unfortunately, they could not be bothered to get his name right. O’Neal referred to Gilgeous-Alexander as “Gilchrist” before Barkley one-upped him and started soliloquizing on the merits of “Shai Alexander-Gilchrist.”
Take a listen.
Gilgeous-Alexander, 24, is having a dynamite season for the Thunder, putting up 31.1 points and 6.1 assists per game (though Oklahoma City is just 8-13 overall). But with 21 total letters, Gilgeous-Alexander does not exactly have the easiest name to nail down.
O’Neal and Barkley were probably thinking of former No. 2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who attended Kentucky like Gilgeous-Alexander did. But the error should definitely be scored to O’Neal here since Barkley only had his “Alexander-Gilchrist” flub after O’Neal got into his head with “Gilchrist.” O’Neal also has a long history of muffing players’ names on TV.
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