Secret Weapons Of Shaquille O'Neal & Charles Barkley's Bromance Revealed!

Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley have an undeniable bond and friendship that shines through on camera. It's hard not to crack up whenever they are together on "NBA on TNT" or in social media clips.

But have you ever wondered how their friendship began? Believe it or not, it started with a fight and two special women.

Anyone who's watched O'Neal and Barkley interact knows that they have a special bond, and they're pretty hilarious together. But it wasn't always that way for the two.

While O'Neal was chatting with The Blast about his recent partnership with JCPenney, he revealed how he and Barkley became friends many years ago.

"We had an altercation one time," O'Neal told The Blast exclusively. "And we didn't realize that his mom and my mom had been friends for many years, so it really taught me about respect."

"After the altercation with him, before I got to the locker room, somebody handed me a phone and it was my mom and his mom on the phone both saying you shouldn't be fighting," he said. "'Make sure you hug and make up and I never want to see this again from you two.'"

O'Neal said because both of them are "mama's boys" they "had to obey." And he had no idea that their two moms were so close until the altercation.

"I never knew they were friends and then I saw them together for the first time having fun, arguing and being respectful, laughing and joking," O'Neal said. "It's the same relationship Charles and I have."

O'Neal shares many fun video clips on social media, and many include Barkley. It's easy to see that they truly enjoy their friendship and know how to make each other laugh out loud!

Last year during an episode of "The Steam Room with EJ and Chuck" podcast, Barkley revealed the shocking reason he carries a bar of soap around with him and O'Neal couldn't contain his laughter over it.

"You know I travel with my soap? You knew that, didn't you? Barkley asked podcast cohost Ernie Johnson, who said he didn't know that fact. "I travel with a big bar of soap. I love soap."

And then he dropped the bomb on why he travels with his own big bar of soap.

"These hotels started being cheap. Those bars aren't big enough. Cause I almost had a couple of accidents with the soap at hotels," Barkley said. "Well, when I was washing a part of my body, I almost had a little incident. I almost had a little incident with those little bars of soap. I almost lost it. And I was like, whoa, that was too close for comfort."

This reveal might have been too much for O'Neal to handle who watched this story being told during an episode of "NBA on TNT." O'Neal couldn't stop laughing, and he wanted to know exactly where Barkley almost lost the soap. (We'll leave that up to your imagination!)

The NBA legend is reliving his only career three-point shot by teaming up with JCPenney to celebrate their "More, More, More Event" to show reward members how to maximize their savings and possibly win a day with O'Neal.

JCPenney recently announced the launch of a new Rewards and Credit Program that offers a simpler experience with the potential to help shoppers save more money. During the partnership with O'Neil, they are asking people to try a three-point shot in their local JCPenney on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

And to make the partnership sweeter, rewards members who attempt a 3-point shot in the store on May 4 and film it can share it on social media with #JCPRewards for a chance to hang out with O'Neal.

The winner will get to "just hang out, talk, eat, travel, party, take some pictures, hug some kids, and you know, just stuff I do on a regular basis," O'Neal told The Blast.

For more information, visit O'Neal's Instagram post.

O'Neal was vocal about his support for the women's NCAA season and is now gearing up for an exciting WNBA season.

"This was the first time in my career that I woke up and wanted to watch women and not really care about the men," O'Neal told The Blast exclusively. "I saw the young ladies' salaries leaked online and people are in an uproar. It's not time for people to start supporting the women like they support the men."

ICYMI! According to a recent tweet by NBC News, "College basketball superstar Caitlin Clark's WNBA contract will see her pocket "338,056 over the course of four years. In contrast, last year's No. 1 NBA draft secured a $55 million four-year contract."

One thing that made O'Neal happy was seeing that the women's NCAA Final Four had more viewers, breaking records on viewership, than the men's Final Four did. He said it's time to "really start supporting" the women the same as the men.

"It's all about the economics. We can pay our guys these crazy contracts because we generate a lot of money. So now that there's excitement behind Caitlin [Clark] and Angel [Reese], make sure you go and support them," he told The Blast.

"Buy the jerseys, buy the tickets, show up at the games. The more money that they make the more money they will be able to make. It's a great turnaround for the ladies, but now, time for the people to really start supporting."