Dwight Howard really thought Charles Barkley played with Wilt Chamberlain

Charles Barkley is older than Dwight Howard. But Howard really thought Barkley was Wilt Chamberlain-level old.

Howard continued his trend of following in Shaquille O’Neal’s footsteps this week. Both centers nicknamed Superman started their careers with the Orlando Magic before going to the Los Angeles Lakers. And on Tuesday night, Howard sat in O’Neal’s chair on Inside the NBA.

While attempting to break the ice with Barkley, Howard asked a question that caught everyone off guard.

“How old does this dude think I am!?” 😂

Chuck was shook by Dwight’s question 😭 pic.twitter.com/gMjjYfP6pc

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 14, 2025

“I got a problem with you, Dwight,” Barkley said near the end of the show. “Ernie, guess what he asked me in the back? This dude asked me about Wilt Chamberlain. I said, ‘dude, how old do you think I am?’”

Chamberlain and Barkley started their careers about a quarter-century apart and they were more than 10 years away from having any crossover. In fact, Barkley’s career was much closer to intersecting with Howard’s than it was with Chamberlain’s. But that didn’t stop Howard from asking Barkley what it was like playing with Chamberlain.

“I did ask you that,” Howard admitted with a curious look. “After I asked you that question, I thought about it and I said, ‘Chuck ain’t that old.’ That’s my bad. I was really trying to start some conversation cause I’m like, ‘Man, there’s Chuck.’”

“We were having a great conversation back there,” Barkley said. “And then it caught me off guard.”

“Is that why you put the headphones in?” Howard asked with a chuckle.

It happens. Colin Cowherd recently asked Derek Jeter what it was like to hit against Nolan Ryan. Jeter’s career started two years after Ryan retired.

But last month, Dan Patrick asked Howard to name the one player he would like to have induct him into the Hall of Fame and the 39-year-old claimed Chamberlain is his favorite of all-time.

“I would love Wilt Chamberlain to be there,” Howard told Patrick.

Howard was kind of given the benefit of the doubt that he was joking, but after assuming Barkley and Chamberlain played in the NBA together, maybe it wasn’t a joke. Maybe Howard really thought Chamberlain, who died in 1999, might be able to induct him into the Hall of Fame.

Howard should spend some time wandering the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame when he’s inducted later this year. Because while the 3-time Defensive Player of the Year may have been a great player, it doesn’t sound like he’s much of a historian.