Charles Barkley speaks out on Michael Jordan's return to the NBA
The Chicago Bulls legend is joining NBC as a 'special contributor', with the network set to broadcast NBA games from the 2025-26 season.
Jordan, now 62, has built a reputation for being fiercely private since retiring from the NBA. But he will soon be back in front of the cameras on a rival network to Barkley and some of basketball's most beloved analysts.
Barkley is part of the hugely popular 'Inside the NBA' crew, which will be shown on ESPN and ABC from next season after TNT lost broadcast rights.
He and Jordan were rivals on the court for more than a decade but 'Chuck' played down talk of a battle between the broadcasters. 'We ain't rivals. We're all promoting the same sport. And that's the good thing about it,' he said. 'We're not in competition. We're both trying to make sure the game grows. I'm glad to have him back.'
Barkley was speaking just a couple of weeks after the NBA Draft, when Cooper Flagg and the class of 2025 joined the league. Flagg is considered one of the brightest NBA prospects of recent times but Barkley doesn't put much too stock in the pedigree of any rookie. 'I don't really pay attention to (the draft) because that's just the beginning of the job,' he said. 'I want to see them play first, because what they did in college don't mean anything to us in the NBA. (But) we have some good young players coming in and I'm looking forward to seeing that growth.'
Earlier this week, meanwhile, the New York Knicks appointed Mike Brown following the firing of Tom Thibodeau in the wake of their playoff loss to the Pacers. 'I like Mike Brown, he's a good coach,' Barkley said. '(But) I don't think it was fair what happened to Tom Thibodeau.' Barkley was speaking to the Daily Mail ahead of the American Century Championship on the shores of Lake Tahoe, California. A star-studded field of 90 celebrities will battle it out over three rounds at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course, with the winner set to receive $150,000.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Venus Williams is back and she is not done. She heads to Cincinnati next and maybe the US Open
After Venus Williams ' four-matches-in-four-days return to professional tennis was over, after she was loudly feted by appreciative fans even after a loss in singles, the D.C. Open stadium announcer offered a thought: 'We're never going to say goodbye to Venus Williams, are we?' he said. Not yet, anyway. This was not a one-stop hello-and-farewell appearance for the 45-year-old Williams, who had been away from the tour for 16 months before showing up in Washington this week and winning once each in singles and doubles. She hadn't won a match since 2023, and the owner of seven Grand Slam singles titles, plus 14 in women's doubles with her sister Serena and another two in mixed doubles, was celebrated by the spectators and other players. 'I'm sorry to have (fallen) short,' Williams said after being eliminated by 24th-ranked Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday night, 'but I know I can play better. And I know I will play better.' Yes, there will be more: Williams next heads to the Cincinnati Open in August. That's certain. And she also might very well be competing at the U.S. Open later next month, if the U.S. Tennis Association awards her a wild-card entry. The USTA already announced that Williams asked for an invitation to play with Reilly Opelka in the tournament's newfangled mixed doubles event. Williams made quite obvious that the whole experience in Washington was fun for her. She loves the challenge. She loves playing tennis. Plus, what's not to like about so much adulation from so many? 'Everything is about her (at) this tournament. All the media, all the fans — everyone is for her,' Frech said. 'She's a superstar. She's a legend here.' There's more to it, though. Because Williams also made clear that this is not merely about having a good time. She wants to win, too. 'There's so many learnings from here. I know exactly what I need to work on, where I can improve. The good news is I'm always in control of the point. The important part is to put the ball in,' Williams said with a smile. 'So this is one thing I didn't do today. Was I in control? Absolutely. Will I be in control of most of my matches? Most likely, yes. That's the place I want to be, so I'm putting myself in that position. That's what counts.' Williams still can hammer a serve, as the series of aces she delivered at more than 110 mph during her straight-set victory Tuesday against 35th-ranked Peyton Stearns showed. Still can pound forehands and backhands, too. As Stearns put it: 'She played some ball tonight.' At the end of her final news conference in Washington, Williams spoke about her takeaways from the matches she played and the work she put in to make them possible after needing to stay off the court last year because of surgery for uterine fibroids. Her answer sounded a bit like a warning to other players out there who will face her. 'I'll reflect on this match and the things I could have done better. I'll reflect on my preparation going into the matches to make sure I'm prime and ready. Those are the kind of things. But more than anything, I take a lot of information from this tournament. So much data,' Williams said. 'Like, I can't wait to get on the practice court. My coach and I were already talking about what we're going to work on and also how much better I got so quickly in these last few weeks, too, was kind of like straight up a mountain.' Then she paused and added: 'So we have made so much progress, and I expect that there will be more.' ___
Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
ESPN anchor unapologetic for her crass penis joke live on air at WNBA All-Star weekend
ESPN's Elle Duncan isn't backing down or apologizing for the suggestive joke she made during the WNBA All-Star Game last weekend. Duncan was on the desk at halftime of the contest, with the score at 80-62 highlighting the severe lack of defense. So Duncan decided to crack a lighthearted joke: 'We hope it gets a little bit more competitive, because like a girls trip to Cancun, right now, there's no D.' It's a funny joke, if not a slightly blue one, and it's in line with others have made on ESPN's airwaves in the past (just ask anyone who's seen Diana Taurasi broadcast a South Carolina women's basketball game). But this joke got more attention - and scrutiny - than others as a new wave of WNBA fans didn't find the humor in Duncan's remark. Appearing on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Thursday, Duncan addressed the criticism while also appearing completely unwilling to apologize. 'My thing with the Cancun joke is, I feel like whenever I say something, it's like sometimes a reintroduction for some people who clearly don't know me or my work over the last 10 years,' Duncan said. 'I'm like, 'bro, I said on air one time that if you celebrate too early, it's called premature I'm-Jacked-Elation.' Like I can't actually imagine this is worse than that. 'Like I feel like I constantly have to remind people, I have been saying things like this for the 10 years I have been at ESPN. 'So I thought it was silly. I thought it was funny. Some people disagree. Some people definitely agree. But it is what it is. Like, yes, girls say crude jokes too.' Many of the comments addressed that there were children watching the occasion. Duncan doesn't appear too pressed about that either. 'The funny part to me, y'all, has been the people who are like, "what am I supposed to say to my children?"' Duncan continued. 'I'm like, "well if you have to talk to your children about the fact that 'D' is a slang word for a penis, then I hope that I was able to help you have that conversation with your child who's old enough to watch basketball." Because my 4-year-old knows what a penis is. 'It's so silly to me. The idea that like this is groundbreaking or somehow completely inappropriate in the landscape that we live in right now is just wild to me. I was a little blown, to be real.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
'People love the underdog' - Cherries fans as far as the USA
Life-long Bournemouth fan David Cordell, who lives in the United States, spoke to BBC Radio Solent's Fern Buckley about the club's pre-season tour, and says it is a sign of how far the Cherries have are in the USA ahead of the Premier League Summer Series which they are competing in alongside other English top-flight sides."We have Bournemouth fans all over the country - we're not as big as Manchester United or Liverpool, obviously, because we haven't had the same success. But a lot of people choose Bournemouth because we are the underdog."We try to persuade people to join us, who don't want to support one of the big six clubs. We play in the same colours as Atlanta so we get a lot of supporters from there."To see Bournemouth becoming a regular Premier League team under a great owner is very lucky and I hope Bill [Foley] will take us to places we've never dreamed growing their fanbase: "We try to do some meet and greets. We have Steve Fletcher [former Bournemouth forward] coming to meet us before the game on Saturday and the club is organising a training session for fans in Chicago. It's good fun and really nice to get to know other the pre-season tour: "It would be nice to win some silverware, but this is all about preparation for the new Cherries play Everton in New Jersey on Saturday (21:00 BST), before then taking on Manchester United in Chicago on 30 July (02:30) and finally West Ham in Atlanta on 3 August (19:00).Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds.
