{"id":1925876,"date":"2026-05-09T01:02:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T22:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1925876"},"modified":"2026-05-09T01:02:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T22:02:23","slug":"charles-barkley-responds-to-draymond-greens-rockets-jab-i-never-punch-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1925876","title":{"rendered":"Charles Barkley responds to Draymond Green\u2019s Rockets jab: \u2018I never punch down\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Charles Barkley says he won\u2019t get into a war of words or battle of stature with Draymond Green.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday\u2019s episode of \u201cInside the NBA,\u201d<\/a> the Golden State Warriors forward took a shot at the twilight years of Barkley\u2019s Hall of Fame career, when he played for the Houston Rockets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the goal is just to not look like you in the Houston Rockets uniform,\u201d Green said when Barkley suggested the Warriors\u2019 run was over and Green would need to go elsewhere to compete for a title. \u201cIt\u2019s ultimately the goal for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Barkley didn\u2019t respond to the jab on air. Two days later, the 1993 NBA MVP explained why he let the comment go.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI never punch down,\u201d Barkley said Friday on the \u201cBickley & Marotta\u201d radio show in Arizona. \u201cDraymond is a good player. We\u2019re not on the same level \u2026\u00a0 I can hear, but I don\u2019t have to respond every time somebody says something about me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“I never punch down. Draymond’s a good player, we’re not on the same level.” <\/p>\n

Charles Barkley had his shot to clap back when Draymond Green poked fun at Barkley’s final NBA years in Houston but chose not to.<\/p>\n

Watch the full interview on @Bickley_Marotta<\/a>: https:\/\/t.co\/Hpa9Dc5nab<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Aei2VSp5yh<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Arizona Sports (@AZSports) May 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Barkley\u00a0sparked the feud with Green when he suggested that the Warriors\u2019 dynasty is over. The Warriors finished 37-45 last season and lost in the Play-In Tournament. The core players on the team that won four NBA titles in eight seasons are aging out of their primes. Steph Curry is 37, Green, who can become a free agent, is 36, and 36-year-old Klay Thompson is now in Dallas. Head coach Steve Kerr even referred to the Warriors as a \u201cfading dynasty<\/a>\u201d in December.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s over for the Warriors,\u201d Barkley said while Green was on set. \u201cI mean, no disrespect, but it ends for every old team. You have your run. You get old. You all let Klay (Thompson) go. You and Steph (Curry are) on the back side of (your) careers. It just passed you by. You all had one of the greatest runs ever. You\u2019re not in the playoffs. You think you\u2019re going to get healthier for next year?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re just going to get older. That\u2019s no disrespect. You guys had one of the greatest runs of all time. If you want to compete, you\u2019re going to have to leave there. If Steph wants to compete, he\u2019s going to have to leave there. You\u2019re going to have to make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In snapping back, Green suggested that Barkley\u2019s time with the Rockets was an example of him not aging gracefully. The Rockets acquired Barkley before the 1996-97 season when he was 33, hoping he\u2019d be the missing piece to a core that included Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Barkley spent the final four years of his career with that franchise, averaging 16.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game across that span while making one All-Star team. Houston came close to breaking through in 1997 but lost to the Utah Jazz in six games in the Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n

When fellow analyst Kenny Smith asked Green what Barkley in a Rockets uniform looked like, Green sarcastically offered another jab.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you see it?\u201d Green asked. \u201cI saw it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green is a four-time NBA champion (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022), four-time All-Star, and the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He has made nine All-Defensive teams, including five First Team honors, and has twice been named All-NBA. Barkley retired in 2000 with career averages of 22.1 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. His 23,757 points rank 31st on the NBA\u2019s career scoring list.<\/p>\n

In Barkley\u2019s estimation, Green\u2019s career averages of 8.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists trail too far behind his own to quibble over his historical standing. So he is willing to weather a few digs from the Warriors\u2019 big man.<\/p>\n

\u201cDraymond is a really good player. He\u2019s had a hell of a career,\u201d Barkley said Friday. \u201cBut we\u2019re not on the same level.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charles Barkley says he won\u2019t get into a war of words or battle of stature with Draymond Green. On Wednesday\u2019s episode of \u201cInside the NBA,\u201d the Golden State Warriors forward took a shot at the twilight years of Barkley\u2019s Hall of Fame career, when he played for the Houston Rockets. \u201cI think the goal is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1925876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1925876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1925876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1925876\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1925876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1925876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1925876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}