NBA icon Charles Barkley made Shaquille O’Neal giggle when he took aim at a No. 1 draft pick and urged him to get into shape.
American basketball legend Charles Barkley is “really concerned” about Zion Williamson’s weight.
During an episode of Inside the NBA, Barkley and his TV colleagues discussed new footage of New Orleans star Williamson rehabbing on the court prior to the Pelicans’ home loss to the New York Knicks on the weekend.
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“It looks like me and Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) had a baby,” Barkley said, which sparked a roar of laughter among the panel.
As Shaquille O’Neal joked, “I quit”, Barkley added that Williamson is “eating good in New Orleans”.
For reference, O’Neal is a giant at 2.16m and 147kg, while Barkley is over 100kg and nearly 2m tall.
Barkley stressed that “somebody has got to be a grown person down in that relationship (in New Orleans) and say, ‘You got to get in shape’.”
The former No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft appears to have put on some kilos while recovering from a surgically repaired right foot fracture he suffered in the off-season.
Pelicans Vice President of basketball operations David Griffin had said at a media day in September that Williamson would be ready for the start of the regular season.
Days before New Orleans’ home opener on October 20, Griffin said doctors were still monitoring the healing of the bone in Williamson’s foot — noting that he’s had no setbacks in his recovery.
Earlier this week, Pelicans head coach Willie Green said Williamson will be re-evaluated in two-to-three weeks. The attention about his return, though, has been focused on his weight.
“I’m joking and I’m serious,” Barkley said, recalling a moment in his career when Moses Malone – his former Philadelphia 76ers teammate in the 1880s – said he was “fat and lazy”.
As a result, he “started to cry a little bit”, but thought of it “as a turning point” in his career.
“He’s already had surgery on his legs, now he’s got a broken foot,” Barkley said about Williamson’s past injuries, including a torn right meniscus and a right knee injury he suffered while playing at Duke college in February 2019.
“He’s going to have to learn, even when you’re hurt you’re going to have to control your eating. When guys get hurt and they come back, you’re trying to get in shape. And if you’re putting all that stress on your knees and feet, you’re just going to keep getting hurt.
“I know he’s got a lot of power … but you’re not going to win if he’s always hurt.”
Inside the NBA co-host Kenny Smith added: “He’s great, skilled player, but that is not basketball shape. That’s not the guy we’ve seen fly though the air with the greatest of ease.”
This story first appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission