Name: Charles Barkley: On whether today's stars are too sensitive
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Charles Barkley: On whether today's stars are too sensitive

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Jan 28, 2021I should have known Charles Barkley wouldn’t flinch.Does he ever?The Hall of Famer who has spent these past two decades sharing his hoops truths on the and whose reputation as the best quote in the basketball business led to him landing this role in the first place, is nothing if not headstrong. So when he called back on Tuesday morning to discuss this uptick in criticism about the show this season, how all these uncomfortable situations with star players have left some wondering if the decorated analysts might be shooting too straight, it should surprise no one that he wasn’t hearing it.“Well, my philosophy hasn’t changed in 20 years,” Barkley began. “I’m gonna do my job. I’m gonna be fair. I’m gonna be fair, and I’m gonna be honest. I criticized back in the day. I’ve criticized , so I’m not going to have a double standard about these guys today just because they’re sensitive. I mean, I’ve always told the story about me and Kobe Bryant going about it. And LeBron James went crazy on me a few years ago, which was fine. But I’m gonna do my job — plain and simple.”It all started, somewhat innocuously, with .After Brooklyn’s season-opening win over Golden State on Dec. 22, the former star whose torn Achilles cost him all of last season gave a one-word answer to a Barkley question — while staring at the floor, no less — that would later become lighthearted fodder for them all.Was Durant upset with Barkley? They didn’t know. Nor, it was quite clear, did they particularly care.Then came the interrogation — on the very same night.After the Clippers’ six-time All-Star turned in a 33-point, six-rebound, three-assist outing in a season-opening win over the reigning champion , Barkley asked George to address the accusations of preferential treatment that had . George handled the question well, sharing his no-apologies view of the matter while adding “whoever that offends, you know, we (don’t) have that issue right now in this locker room.” But NBA Twitter, that robust social media corner where so much of the conversation surrounding the league resides, did not approve.But of all the back-and-forths that have caused a stir this season, from Durant to George and others involving and , none drew more attention than the exchange between Shaquille O’Neal and Utah’s after the ’s win over New Orleans last Thursday. After a halftime discussion in which Kenny Smith raised the question of whether Mitchell would ever evolve from a star to a superstar, and after Mitchell finished with 36 points, seven rebounds and five assists to extend Utah’s winning streak to seven, O’Neal informed Mitchell that he didn’t believe he was capable of taking that next step.It was awkward, to say the least, even with Mitchell’s poise shining through as he offered a measured response. But the more interesting reaction came on social media a day later, when Durant and James — inspired by the Mitchell/Shaq exchange — that asked the question, ‘Why are young players so sensitive when the OG legends give them constructive criticism?”Durant: “Them old heads need to go enjoy retirement. These boys have coaches they work with everyday lol.”James: “There’s a difference between constructive criticism and soft hating though. I’ve seen it both ways come my way, mostly the hate. You can hear it in their delivery.”Barkley, who takes great pride in his choice to not take part in the social media world, opted to be heard the old-fashioned way: In an interview with The Athletic that was, not surprisingly, as unabashed as it was unfiltered.Author’s notes in italics…Remind me, what was the Kobe story?&nbsp;Well, when he had I called him out after the game. And (former Lakers coach) called him out later. Remember the game where he wouldn’t shoot the ball? I was the first one to call him out because we had that game that night. And he called me going crazy. We had a back and forth for like five hours in the middle of the night. It was hilarious.Are you exaggerating about five hours or being serious?Seriously — well, in fairness, it was probably three hours. He was upset by what I said, and we went back and forth. Actually, the thing that was funny about it was that he would not pick up the phone. So we were texting each other back and forth for three hours. It was hilarious. And I was laughing. He would motherfuck me, and I’m laughing, like, ‘Yo man, you know what you did. It’s nothing personal. I didn’t like what you did.’ And my thing was, ‘I’ve been calling you the best basketball player in the world for the last three or four years and you’ve never texted me to say ‘Thank you.’ But what you did tonight was not cool, and you shouldn’t have done it.’I’m with you there. That’s a media pet peeve of mine, the idea that we only hear from folks when they get pissed off about something we say. I can relate.&nbsp;Well you know, that’s the thing that’s interesting about it. And listen, I don’t want to say it’s all these guys. But a lot of these guys today, I can say nine great things about them, and they never fucking call me. But if I say one bad thing, they text me or their agent texts me, and it’s hilarious. It’s kind of like — remember a few years ago when people went crazy when I said (of James Harden), ‘Now I’m not saying he’s as good as Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan, but James Harden is the .’ And then I remember all the talk shows having a conversation about it the next day. And then a year later, it was, ‘I think Charles might be right. He’s not as great as Michael and Kobe, but this guy might be the best one-on-one player we’ve ever seen in the NBA.’ And I’ll stick by that. He’s in that conversation.But then last week, when I said James was unprofessional and he quit on the , I got a couple phone calls and I’m like, ‘James Harden went four games in a row not getting 20 points, OK? That’s when you know he’s packed it in.’ And then he goes to Brooklyn the first game and gets 37, 12 and 13.Chuck was close, but it was actually 32 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds in a win over Orlando.&nbsp;So for him to go four games in a row of not getting 20 points, he’s clearly packed it in. But he never called me to say, ‘Charles, you said I was the best one-on-one basketball player ever?’ But you know, Sam, I’m gonna do my job man.I hear you, and you’ve always been that way. But what about the other guys (on the show)? I don’t know if your style is contagious, but it was a little different to see Shaq be so direct with a player like he was with Donovan, and with the Paul (George) situation, you all kind of shared it.To me, the Paul one wasn’t a big deal. I think the one that people made a big deal with me about was … Kevin Durant and how he gave me the one-word answer, which is fine.What was the backstory there — something you’d said about (Durant’s co-star) Kyrie (Irving)?See, I don’t even know if it was about Kyrie, or I said that (Durant’s) not going to get the credit he deserves until he wins a championship without the Warriors. So I’m not sure if it was what I said about him or what I said about Kyrie. Like, man, I don’t know what these fucking guys are (hearing) to be honest with you, Sam. But clearly, he was upset about something to give me that one-word answer. To me, it was hilarious.You talk about Kobe texting you and the three-hour back-and-forth. What are today’s players doing? Is it always their people coming at you or do they come directly sometimes?I’ve had a combination of both. But I will tell you a funny thing about Kobe. Like I said, we texted for three hours. And (remember), we get off (the Inside the NBA set) at two o’clock in the morning, so I think the last text I got from him was after like four in the morning. But the thing that was funny about it was that when he saw me like three months later, he just gave me a hug and said, ‘Man, I love you. That was my fault.’ So like I say, Phil Jackson even said it. He said, ‘Yeah, what Kobe did that night was unprofessional.’ Like he took one shot in the second half. He was trying to prove a point, that I’ve got no help. And I was like, ‘Yo man, for you to go a whole game, a whole half of basketball, in a season-ending game and only shoot one time, come on man. We all know what you were doing. You have a point. Yeah, you need some more help. But the way you handled it was just 100 percent wrong.’What about the Donovan (situation)? For me, he has been amazing media-wise since he got into the league……Chuck interjects&nbsp;But yeah, you know Sam, let me tell you something. Me and Kenny actually had a conversation this weekend about this, because (Kenny) was talking to his dad. And his dad says, ‘I was watching the show the other night and I went and did some research (and) Donovan has only had one game of double-digit assists his entire career. He’s had only one game of double-digit rebounds in his career. Kenny Smith had 90. He had 90. And Kenny Smith ain’t half the player Donovan Mitchell is. He had 90 games where he had either 10 assists or 10 rebounds. And that was the point.A brief interruption in the interest of accuracy. While Chuck was close (again), here’s the truth…We said the kid was a hell of a player. But as far as being a superstar, nobody’s a superstar until they can win the game multiple ways. And listen, that to me is an indictment on Donovan Mitchell. Come on, man. As much as you have the ball, you only had one game with double-digit assists? And one game double-digit rebounds? Come on. I mean Sam, that’s almost impossible.That’s fair. I do wonder, though, how you might see the other side. I’ve talked to the Jazz about it, and part of their perspective is a matter of timing. Basically, they don’t mind tough questions. But to have them come in a walk-off interview after a guy just had a great game and played 38 minutes, or whatever it was, is tough. How would you see that?When are we going to talk to Donovan Mitchell? Only after he had a good game. That’s the only time. So listen, their point is interesting. But we’re not gonna interview him after a bad game, or we’re not going to interview him on a night off. So listen, they can say what they want to. If you go back and listen, we all said this (previously), and we said the same thing about (Philadelphia’s) too — just for the record. The question was, ‘Is he an All-Star or a superstar?’ I’ve always said this about Ben Simmons, and me and Ben have talked about it too. He can be an All-Star, but he can’t be a superstar until he learns how to shoot. And guess what? Donovan Mitchell is an All-Star. He’s not a superstar, because he can’t win the game more than one way. Listen, that’s a fair (opinion to have).And I’ve talked about this too, how the first thing that Dr. J said to me (during his playing days in Philadelphia) when I became a star, he said, ‘Before you get mad and get all in your feelings, ask yourself ‘Was the criticism fair?’ That’s the first question.’Which I understand. I do think, though, that there’s a crowd where they’re saying that it wasn’t a matter of fairness but was a matter of timing. Even beyond Donovan, to hear you break it down, it feels like you’re doing the same thing you’ve always done and you don’t really see any change here. Part of me wondered if you all, internally, had made a decision to try to go down this kind of road a little more frequently.We never discuss things before the show, so that’s not — we’ve never discussed ways to throw gasoline on a fire. I can promise you that.To Chuck’s defense — and the celebrated show at large — Ernie did write an entire book highlighting his ‘Inside the NBA’ experience that was titled &nbsp;Improvisation is a pivotal part of the show’s ethos and success, not to&nbsp;mention a collective point of pride.So it’s not a concerted effort to say, ‘Hey, let’s start getting a little tougher on today’s stars and asking the hard questions.’&nbsp;Who have we been hard on? Paul George? He was awful in the bubble (during the playoffs). I’m just making a point. KD is one of the greatest ever, but until he wins a championship where he’s the No. 1 guy, he’s gonna face that criticism. And you know what? It was the same criticism LeBron went through, and LeBron didn’t act like no punk. (He was like) ‘Hey listen, I joined a superteam (in Miami), and until I went back to Cleveland, I feel like that was the first championship where I was the guy.’ And that’s fair.How did you feel about how Donovan handled it, and was there anything on the back end where his people might have reached out to you guys?No, I thought Donovan handled it well. But we haven’t heard from his people.Not yet, anyways…(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Jan 28, 2021I should have known Charles Barkley wouldn’t flinch.Does he ever?The Hall of Famer who has spent these past two decades sharing his hoops truths on the and whose reputation as the best quote in the basketball business led to him landing this role in the first place, is nothing if not headstrong. So when he called back on Tuesday morning to discuss this uptick in criticism about the show this season, how all these uncomfortable situations with star players have left some wondering if the decorated analysts might be shooting too straight, it should surprise no one that he wasn’t...

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Sam Amick

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Charles Barkley: On whether today's stars are too sensitive

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