Christmas is a big holiday for many people around the world. The NBA isn’t the exception, as it features their biggest regular-season day, where they showcase incredible matchups between marquee teams to delight all the fans celebrating at home.
Everybody around the league enjoys the holiday, but just like the rest of the popular things, there is a group of people that dislike the tradition. In the NBA, we can find a Grinch in Charles Barkley.
The former Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets player does not like Christmas and made it clear in 2015. Chuck doesn’t like that many people try to act kind towards him just when the holidays arrive, prompting the 1993 NBA MVP to develop some animosity towards Christmas.
“Man, ya know, Christmas is not a lot of fun for me,’ Barkley said via USA TODAY Sports. “It’s just a big waste of money. When you’re black and rich, everybody thinks they’re a part of your family. Everybody is a relative. Everybody wants a really nice gift. It’s like your family members, one year you buy them a house, the next year you buy them a car, the next year you buy them a sweater.
“They look at you like, ‘You only got me a sweater?’ They always want the gifts to escalate, so you can’t ever get them a sweater if you bought them a house the year before because they get pissed. I’m not a big Christmas fan. I’m a firm believer that Santa Claus should only bring kids gifts. I think Santa Claus should bring gifts to everybody until they get out of high school, and then that’s it. That’s my personal opinion.”
Barkley has valid reasons to feel that way about Christmas, and many people must feel the same around the country. Christmas is a holiday to spend time with your family, but sometimes, some think it’s about spending big money on gifts for people you’re not that close with. Chuck kept it real there and it’s hard to disagree on that part with him. Yet, we’re not rich, so it’s hard to know how annoying people can be when they receive non-expensive gifts.
He knew how to take care of his money after his first agent stole $100 million from him, so it’s not hard to see why Chuck took this approach to Christmas.
