After the New York Knicks took a 3-0 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night in the Eastern Conference Finals, Charles Barkley went off about a topic from the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
Barkley called out the narrative that Oklahoma City is playing dirty and overly physical against San Antonio superstar Victor Wembanyama during Saturday night’s ESPN on ABC edition of Inside the NBA. He alluded to “clowns on TV” that are “pissing [him] off” and explained that it “drives [him] crazy watching these shows.”
Charles Barkley: “These are some of the softest fouls I’ve ever seen in my life. You’ve got these clowns on TV talking about, ‘Oh, they’re going to hurt poor Wemby…’ Hurt him? You’re kidding, man. It drives me crazy watching these shows.” #NBA pic.twitter.com/utTjibBK29
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 24, 2026
“I think we all need to pray for Wemby,” Barkley said. “Because he can’t play too many minutes. They’re gonna kill him out there.”
“You’re joking,” Kenny Smith interjected.
“Man, I am damn sure joking,” Barkley responded.
“These people, man, they’re pissing me off,” Barkley continued, clearly angry over the subject. “I’m watching the whole games. They ain’t playing dirty. These are some of the softest fouls I’ve ever seen in my life. You’ve got these clowns on TV talking about, ‘Oh, they’re going to hurt poor Wemby.’ I was like, hurt him? Are you kidding, man? It drives me crazy watching these shows.”
In Game 4 on Sunday, it was Wembanyama and the Spurs taking it to the Thunder. Wembanyama scored a game-high 33 points (and took advantage of fouls from the Thunder, going 8-of-9 on free throws), pulled down eight rebounds, dished out five assists, and blocked three shots in a 103-82 win in San Antonio to even up the series 2-2 against the defending champions.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.