Charles Barkley just likened the Philadelphia 76ers duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to the legendary Los Angeles Lakers duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq's reaction is too good not to garner it's own new article. Heck, this might actually end up being a viral meme.

Here's what Shaq thinks of Sir Charles' comparison:

Before anything else, let's show our respect to Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. These two have been playing some outstanding basketball this season ā€” arguably the best in their career as a duo ā€” and it has resulted in Philly owning the best record in the East right now. We need to give credit where it is due.

However, to utter their names in the same sentence as Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal ā€” two of the greatest players of all time and arguably the best duo in NBA history ā€” just sounds like slander at this point. Shaq clearly disagrees with the comparison, but he decided to just sit this argument out. He probably knew that it would be folks like myself that were going to crucify Barkley for his disrespectful comments. We're actually surprised Shaw didn't spit out his drink in utter shock.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Sixers' Buddy Hield smiling, with silhouette of Jazz's Lauri Markannen beside him

Jedd Pagaduan Ā·

Nikola Jokic saying "new year, new series..." Nuggets logo and the Lakers logo with a "vs." between the logos.

Rachel Strand Ā·

76ers' Nico Batum with stars covering his eyes

Sam DiGiovanni Ā·

In his defense, Barkley did try to justify his comments. Try. And failed. The Hall of Famer has been right many times in the past, but this is a particular subject that I personally cannot agree with.

Ben and Joel are going to go down in history as great players. They might even be in store for a championship or two. Until then, however, let's hold off the Kobe-Shaq comparisons because we know just how special they were with the Lakers.