The Philadelphia 76ers legend, Charles Barkley, sat down with Stephen A. Smith on July 24 for an interview, just shortly after LeBron James announced that he would be joining Barkley’s former team to compete for a championship.
But instead of being delighted with the news that his former franchise has a realistic chance to compete for the championship, Barkley voiced his displeasure with the move and cited the same criticism that he’s had with LeBron James over the years: he always plays with ‘stacked’ teams.
“I was good till y’all ruined my damn day. I was heading to the damn golf course. I had to turn around cuz y’all, this doofus made this announcement. Man, don’t interrupt my damn summer schedule. I don’t play golf every day this week, and now y’all piss me off on a Friday.
“It’s the weekend, and I got to talk about this thing. So now I’m not happy right now, Stephen. A,” Charles Barkley said.
“I’m shocked. ‘Cause I wanted him to go back to Cleveland,” said Barkley on his initial reaction to the free agency decision.Â
“I mean, he has no affiliation with the 76ers. He has no affiliation with the Warriors. Do the Miami thing. I could deal with that honestly if he went back to Miami, but he has no affiliation with the Sixers or the Warriors. So, I was just hoping he went back to Cleveland.”
“Well, I think number one, it would be incredible,” Barkley further added about how he would feel if LeBron James wins at least one NBA title in the next two years with the 76ers.
“But the number one knock on LeBron for older guys like myself has always been, ‘Yo, man, you always stacking your team.’ He stacked it in Miami. He stacked it in Cleveland. He’s stacked it in LA. Now he’s stacking it in Philly.”
“So that to me, I’m going to still have the same criticism I’ve always had. He’s always stacked his team,” Barkley emphasized.
“If he wins back-to-back championships and walks away from this thing at 44-45. I’ll say something I ain’t never said before. This dude, I think I just saw the greatest basketball player ever.”
“Dude, if he wins back to back at 44, 45 years old. And that’s the thing about the Stepford Wives LeBron hangs out with. Like it ain’t no shame saying he’s the third best basketball player you ever seen. But if he can still play, if they can win two more, two more. Two more. Now I didn’t say one more. You said two more.”
“If he wins two more, I think you have to be kind of crazy not to say he’s the best to ever do it. Now, we’re talking a long way, brother. Listen, at his age, he’s got to stay healthy. It’s a long NBA season,” Barkley concluded.
Barkley has been extremely vocal about his problems with James starting a trend of forming super teams in the NBA. And he remains rigid on his stance until LeBron James manages to do something that has never happened before: not just one but two (back-to-back) championships with the 76ers.
Therefore, all the pressure is now on LeBron James to not just fit into the 76ers roster and make them championship contenders, but also to ensure that this stint with the 76ers does not become an asterisk on his NBA legacy.
If James wins a championship with the 76ers, he would be the first player ever to win a title with four different teams. How do you think that impacts his legacy? Let us know your opinions in the comments section.
