Long before LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith were entangled in an epically long feud, Charles Barkley and Jim Rome nearly came to blows.
Barkley joined The Jim Rome Show this week to discuss his Auburn Tigers and preview this weekend’s NCAA men’s Final Four. But before the interview came to an end, Rome asked about James’ confrontation with Smith, prompting Barkley to echo what he told Dan Patrick last week, which was ‘everyone lost’ for having to sit through this feud.
Jim Rome, however, said LeBron vs Smith reminded him of his own relationship with Charles Barkley.
“If you can’t appreciate the the guys who came before you, there’s something wrong with you.”
There’s no one better to talk about the modern NBA media landscape than my dude Chuck. pic.twitter.com/HbiV0ypCU2
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) April 1, 2025
“The most amazing thing about what you just said is it was you and I 25 years earlier,” Rome claimed. “I was doing a show and you said something to the effect of – and you might have even been right when you said it – ’Jim Rome is all that is wrong with sports media right now.’ And we had this thing and we had this beef.”
Rome then recalled being at a restaurant in Las Vegas with Don MacLean years ago, when Charles Barkley walked in and was not pleased. “I was brash and when I saw you were angry I started leaning into it. My man, you could have knocked me out that night,” Rome said.
According to Rome, they exchanged words, but within two minutes, Barkley thought better of knocking out the brash radio host and said, “You know what Rome, you’re good with D-Mac, you’re good with me. Cristal! All around.”
From that point, they went from having a bitter relationship because of Rome’s public criticisms of Barkley throughout his playing career, to being friends. That should provide some hope for LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith. According to Barkley, he didn’t knock Rome out in that Vegas restaurant because the radio host’s wife was there. Rome, however, who was no stranger to being attacked by athletes, claims Barkley didn’t get physical because he’s a good person.
“He didn’t knock me out because he’s the best guy. He just got over it, like in two minutes,” Rome said. “It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it. You have a job to do, I have a job to do, we’re in Vegas. Screw it, Cristal All around! And…after I had been burying Chuck on the radio every day, forever…he would go into other markets when he played and local media would ask, ‘What are your thoughts on what Rome had to say?’ It was that big of a deal back then! And he would say, ‘It’s guys like that that represent everything that’s wrong with the media.’ He clearly could have broken my face that night, but he’s a good guy. He’s the best guy.”
Decades later, LeBron James refrained from knocking Stephen A. Smith out. Maybe because James too is the best guy, or maybe because he feared the 57-year-old Smith’s willingness to fight back.
