Charles Barkley scorns ‘fools’ on ESPN and FS1 for ‘kissing up to Lakers and Warriors’

Charles Barkley appears to be relishing the fact that the NBA Playoffs may soon be devoid of the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Warriors were knocked out of last week’s play-in tournament, while the Lakers are on the brink of getting swept by the Denver Nuggets in consecutive seasons. One person who has remained consistently off the Warriors and Lakers bandwagon all season, however, is Charles Barkley. But Barkley can’t say the same for all of his competitors on other networks.

PSA from Chuck 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/1VOC8g4VKe

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 26, 2024

“I just want to say, all you people who’ve been kissing up to the Lakers and the Warriors all year talking about ‘they gonna make a run.’ You know where they’re gonna run their a** to?” Barkley ranted. “The Bahamas. Sunday morning.

“I told y’all all along…I get tired of these fools on the other networks…I told y’all, the Lakers and the Warriors both stink. So, stop bragging on them!”

This is a frequent narrative for Barkley, who loves to call the other networks out for showing off their Lakers bias. One problem, however. The worst offender of “kissing up to the Lakers” may have occurred on Barkley’s network, with Shaquille O’Neal picking them to win their first-round matchup against Denver, despite entering the series having lost eight consecutive games against the Nuggets. Make that 11 after starting the series 0-3.

ESPN definitely kisses up to the Lakers, they root and talk about LeBron James’ team every chance they get because apparently, they’re still pretty good for business. Stephen A. Smith talked about what will happen if LeBron and the Lakers knock off the Nuggets, but he never outright picked them to do so like Shaq. Barkley might get tired of the fools on other networks, but what about his own?

[Inside the NBA]