NBA fans came at Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley for going below the belt and dissing the Chicago Bulls on the most recent episode of TNT’s “Inside the NBA.”
Barkley claimed that the Bulls would not be able to win this year’s March Madness tournament against collegiate-level competition.
The slight came in the aftermath of Chicago’s 126-111 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night. It marked the Bulls’ third loss in their last four games.
Seeing that the Bulls have struggled to find any success with their All-Star trio this year, the NBA analyst took things a step further by degrading their ability to compete as professionals. Fans saw this as an opportunity to remind “Chuck” of his shortcomings as a player.
Charles Barkley’s Bulls dig brings up past failures
The former 1993 NBA MVP reacted to Chicago’s highlights down the stretch of their loss to L.A. He felt compelled to say this, as NBA on TNT shared on X:
“The Bulls could not win March Madness. They’d be the No. 4 seed.” Barkley hilariously claimed.
Chuck: “The Bulls couldn’t win March Madness." 😭 pic.twitter.com/DyxAjMKoHq
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 15, 2024
When Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith checked him on his comments, Barkley made it more about the team than their best players, chiefly DeMar DeRozan:
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“No, I’m talking about the sum of their parts,” Barkley clarified when asked if there was a better college basketball player right now than DeRozan.
The inflammatory remark was more for laughs than for legitimate critique. Nevertheless, the Phoenix Suns great did bring the Bulls’ underwhelming success to the light.
In response, fans took the golden opportunity to clap back at Barkley on X, while others joined in on the laughs:
This man Charles Barkley mad mj owned him for years 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/xCwBm9TpqC
— PERK (@Perkchii) March 15, 2024
Chuck says nonsense for attention.
— ROVOS RANTS (@RovosRants) March 15, 2024
Charles Barkley said the Chicago Bulls couldn’t win March Madness 🤣😂 @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/HzJupVHzeV
— Abundantly Eating Guacamole (@BiggerThanYou4E) March 15, 2024
Barkley did not come away from his comments unscathed. At the least, Barkley’s biggest supporters are ready for his upcoming March Madness coverage.
We are so close to Charles Barkley commentating on College Basketball, I just can’t wait.
— Coty “Jude’s Dad” Stiltner (@CotyStiltner) March 15, 2024
The comical dig comes as Selection Sunday approaches on March 17. Barkley is a mainstay in tournament coverage and is sure to deliver more gems like his Bulls critique once play begins on March 19.
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