Charles Barkley Take NBA All-Star Fan Vote To Task

Jun 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; NBA TV analyst Charles Barkley talks on set before game three of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Jun 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; NBA TV analyst Charles Barkley talks on set before game three of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

NBA great Charles Barkley made 11 All-Star appearances during his career but never criticized the fan vote.

Now, Barkley seems to have a problem with fans being part of the process. He recently said it lessens the honor because of their presence.

"One of the reason I hate the All-Star situation is the fans don't pay attention," Barkley said during an Inside The NBA on TNT segment. "They just vote for household names."

The serious moment then became comedy hour, as usual.

Shaquille O'Neal intervened by saying, "So how you make it so many times, if fans don't pay attention?"

"I was a household name, fool," Barkley responded.

O'Neal, "No, you wasn't."

Barkley, "Go to my household, got pictures of me everywhere."

O'Neal while laughing: "That was a good one, Chuck."

BARKLEY BEST ON DREAM TEAM?

Michael Jordan was considered the best basketball player in the world at the time.

For one summer in 1992, he took a backseat to another NBA superstar. Many felt Barkley was the man attraction when the Dream Team stormed through the Olympics in Barcelona.


"He dominated the Olympics," longtime NBA insider David Aldridge said on an appearance on the Bomani Jones podcast. "If they had an MVP of the Olympics, he would've been the MVP."

This was the first year NBA players were allowed to participate in the competition. The team featured the likes of Karl Malone, John Stockton, David Robinson and Chris Mullin. It went as expected, with the United States winning many games by blowout.

"On the Dream Team, Charles Barkley was the best player on that team," Aldridge said. "It wasn't Michael. It wasn't Karl Malone. It wasn't Stockton. It wasn't David Robinson. Charles Barkley, he was the best player on that team by far."

SHAQ SPENDS BIG BUCKS ON FEET

O'Neal never passes up a chance to slam Barkley.

O'Neal recently appeared on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon to explain why he spends much as $1,000 on monthly pedicures. His reasoning involved a Barkley reference.

"Because I feel sorry for the young lady that's doing my feet," O'Neal said. "My feet look like Charles Barkley's face."

#Shaq explains why he pays $1000 for a pedicure 😂 #FallonTonight

Posted by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Basketball players arguably have the worst feet of any professional athlete. It's mainly because they play dozens of game each year. It takes a toll on their toes. For O'Neal, he started maintaining his feet after he first painted his toenails.

"One time I had a toe injury and my mom put nail polish on it," O'Neal said. "And I had 40 points. So then when I covered all the rest of my toes, I was averaging 40 points for the season. I was like, `You know what, I'm just gonna start painting my toes.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

Follow our updates on Facebook

X: @BackInTheDayNBA


Published
Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com