Charles Barkley Roasts TNT for Airing Lowly Bulls-Raptors Matchup Right Before Tip-Off

Charles Barkley couldn’t hide his lack of excitement over the Bulls-Raptors clash on Thursday.

TNT aired a national broadcast of the Chicago Bulls’ clash against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night, a matchup which didn’t seem to offer much intrigue to NBA analyst Charles Barkley.

Prior to tipoff, Barkley was tasked with promoting the game and encouraging fans to stick around and watch the action, a responsibility he handled in his own unique fashion.

Rather than hype up the matchup before a quick commercial break, Barkley signed off by practically begging fans not to turn the channel away from the Eastern Conference showdown. 

“Hey guys, I know we got the Bulls and the Raptors, but watch anyway!” said Barkley before the game tipped off in Toronto.

"Hey guys, I know we got the Bulls and the Raptors, but watch anyway!" - Charles Barkley with the big TNT promo 🏀📺😂 pic.twitter.com/9pC9nsBFF3

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 19, 2024

If Barkley was hoping for some excitement in the first quarter in order to coax fans into keeping the game on their TVs, the Bulls and Raptors didn’t deliver.

The two teams struggled from the field early on, combining to go 3-of-13 from the field prior to the first commercial timeout. They had just eight points between them throughout the contest’s first four minutes of play. 

Barkley didn’t even try to hide the fact that Thursday’s tilt wasn’t the most exciting of games, as neither Chicago nor Toronto boast records above .500, finding themselves towards the bottom of the Eastern Conference.