Ernie Johnson has worked alongside Charles Barkley for more than two decades, which means there aren’t an awful lot of things the two don’t know about each other personally or professional, but on their latest episode of The Steam Room podcast, Barkley revealed something that had Johnson completely dumbfounded.
Barkley’s daughter, Christiana, got her name from a Delaware mall Barkley used to frequent during his time with the Sixers, a fact that Johnson simply could not believe.
Charles Barkley says he named his daughter after a mall in Delaware pic.twitter.com/AdJpFgoWjq
— Rob Lopez (@r0bato) December 8, 2021
Barkley: “Well, she’s named after a mall, in fairness. There’s a Christiana Mall in Delaware that I used to always go by. That’s how she got her name, Christiana.”
Johnson: “Hold…stop.”
Barkley: “Wait, what is it?”
Johnson: “You named your daughter after a mall?”
Barkley: “Yeah.”
Johnson: “Why?”
Barkley: “I don’t know, I just liked the mall.”
Johnson: “God, you’re a mess, man. [laughing]”
Ernie’s reaction is, truly, priceless, as he is so taken aback by this newfound information from Barkley that he simply cannot believe he named his daughter after a mall. Given Ernie is, typically, playing the straight man on Inside The NBA, it’s always great when he can’t help but be taken aback by something he’s hearing and stopping the conversation to make Chuck (or Shaq) explain themselves. For Chuck’s part, he doesn’t see why this is a shocking revelation, and inspiration for naming a child can strike anywhere, even a mall in Delaware.