Matt Barnes has been dropped by his former NBA team.
A spokesperson for NBC Sports California, the network that broadcasts Sacramento Kings games, told the Sacramento Bee this week that the retired ex-NBA swingman Barnes will no longer be appearing for them. The move ends a two-and-a-half-season run for Barnes, who joined the NBC Sports California television broadcast team in 2021 and had appeared on Kings pregame and postgame coverage.
While NBC Sports California did not disclose the reasoning behind their decision, it comes several weeks after Barnes was accused of aggressively confronting a student broadcaster at a high school basketball game that Barnes’ son was playing in. Viral video circulated online showing Barnes putting his hand on the student broadcaster’s shoulder.
You can see that video clip here.
The 43-year-old Barnes, an NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors in 2017, played two separate stints with the Kings (from 2004-05 and again from 2016-17). Since retiring as a player, Barnes has gone onto a successful media career, co-hosting the popular podcast “ALL THE SMOKE” and also recently launching “All the Smoke Productions” with former Showtime executive Brian Dailey.
Barnes, a native of Northern California, has strong ties to the Sacramento area and once even said that he was considering a mayoral run. But when it comes to his TV gig with the Kings, Barnes will now have to look elsewhere.
