Charles Barkley had a big problem with the coverage of rumors about LeBron James’ potential retirement from the NBA.
Barkley admitted on TNT’s postgame show Tuesday that he had to “turn the TV off” in anger because of the James discussion. The broadcaster felt that the story overshadowed the Denver Nuggets’ sweep to reach their first NBA Finals.
"I was so mad this morning I actually turned the TV off. Because the Denver Nuggets sweep, get to the finals for the first time… We all love LeBron, he didn't say he was retired yet… But it should've been all about the Denver Nuggets."
— Charles Barkleypic.twitter.com/WBuWAv4bs4
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 24, 2023
“I was so mad this morning, I actually turned the TV off,” Barkley said. “Because the Denver Nuggets, who have been the best basketball team in the world all season, sweep, get to the NBA Finals for the first time. … I was so mad watching TV this morning. Listen, we all love LeBron. He didn’t say he was retiring yet. When he does that, we’ll do all that other stuff. But it should have been all about the Denver Nuggets, and (Nikola Jokic), Jamal Murray, Michael Porter, and those guys.”
Reports about James’ possible retirement came out almost immediately after the Los Angeles Lakers’ Game 4 loss. The story significantly overshadowed the success of the Nuggets despite their sweep, and Barkley probably isn’t alone in thinking that is not particularly fair to them.
Another reason for the frustration is that most people simply do not think a James retirement is actually likely, and that is backed up by a lot of other factors.
