For years, Draymond Green has been talked up as sports media’s “next” Charles Barkley. Maybe Green should not get so personal with the real Charles Barkley if he wants a future chair on Inside the NBA.
The outspoken Warriors forward tried to be a wiseguy with Barkley on Wednesday night’s TNT Sports pregame show, which is licensed to ESPN. But Green’s punch didn’t land. Now he’s facing a backlash on social media.
The awkward exchange started when Barkley noted it’s “over” for the aging Warriors dynasty, which netted four NBA championships from 2015-2022. “Listen, sports are for young people. You hope to have a great long career. But nobody wins when they’re 37 or 38,” said the Chuckster.
That was Charles being Charles. Blunt. Straight to the point. And usually correct. Instead of addressing the issue, Green got personal with Barkley, who’s been retired for 26 years. “The goal is just to not look like you in a Houston Rockets uniform,” Green cracked.
Ouch.
If it was supposed to be a joke, nobody laughed. If it was supposed to be a serious appraisal of Barkley’s four seasons in Houston, it didn’t add up. After all, Barkley was still an All-Star with the Rockets in the 1996-1997 season, averaging 19.2 points and 13.5 rebounds per game. Green doesn’t have the same comedic chemistry with Barkley and the rest of the cast that Shaquille O’Neal possesses. You could feel the tension among the normally loose, fun-loving cast.
Yes, Green has won four NBA championships to Barkley’s zero. But he was always the third or fourth option behind Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and, for three seasons, Kevin Durant. Trying to show up a popular legend is one thing. But Green left the impression that he believed his career was equal to Barkley’s. He’s rightly being ratioed for his delusions on social media.
“Aside from the fact that this is awful, awkward television, it’s also just ahistorical,” wrote FS1’s Nick Wright on X/Twitter. “In his 4 years in Houston, Chuck averaged 16-12-4, including averaging 18 & 12 during a run to the Western Conference Finals. Draymond continues to recreate history.”
ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi also reminded Green of Barkley’s Hall of Fame credentials. “Foolish to even debate/discuss Charles Barkley vs Draymond Green at any point in their careers. In a Rockets uniform, Barkley averaged 16/12/4 over 4 yrs,” tweeted the SportsCenter anchor. “You can have jokes about rings but Charles is an all-time great. Dray’s joke didn’t hit the way he thought it would.”
And Robert Littal of Black Sports Online questioned Green’s future on TV. “I don’t think Draymond will work long term in traditional media spaces. I know they want him to be a Barkley replacement but it just doesn’t hit quite right. The podcasting will be his thing,” he tweeted.
The only winner from the viral exchange was ESPN, which is in its first season licensing the pregame show from TNT. It was the kind of viral Inside the NBA moment that ESPN envied for years. Now it’s happening on their air. The four letters wasted no time blasting out the video clip to over 41 million SportsCenter followers on X/Twitter.
With ESPN/ABC holding exclusive rights to the NBA Finals, you can bet the Worldwide Leader is hoping for more viral moments from Barkley & Co. in the weeks ahead. As for Green’s post-retirement future on TV, he didn’t do himself any favors Wednesday night.
