“NBA Media Is Full Of Clowns”: Charles Barkley Catches Heat from Fans After Giannis Antetokounmpo All-Star Starter Snub

Prateek Singh | 24/01/2025
Giannis Antetokounmpo (L) and Charles Barkley (R)

The list of NBA All-Star starters for the Eastern and Western Conference was released recently. While there are some notable snubs on the official list as well, fans’ attention was mostly drawn by Charles Barkley’s picks on Inside the NBA. The NBA legend picked Giannis Antetokounmpo as an All-Star reserve for the East, which fans didn’t receive well.

Barkley’s list of East All-Star starters includes Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson, and Karl-Anthony Towns. The other two NBA legends on the show, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith, picked Giannis as a starter.

When pressed about the Greek Freak snub in the starting lineup, Chuck said that he wouldn’t change his pick. Although it’s a personal choice, picking Brown over Giannis as a starter was bound to tick some people off against Barkley. After seeing his picks, fans have started trashing the NBA legend on social media.

One fan said that the NBA media is full of clowns, referring to Barkley snubbing Giannis as a starter. He wrote, “Charles Barkley had Giannis on the bench for All-Star game, NBA media is full of clowns.”

A Lakers fan also called Barkley a clown. He took it a step further by adding that they should’ve gone off-air if this is the standard that they’re going to present.

A Giannis fan was left scratching his head over Chuck’s pick. He wondered what was the thought process of the NBA legend while coming up with these choices.

Regardless of one’s preferences, not picking Giannis as a starter is an absurd choice. The Bucks superstar is easily a top-three player in the league right now. Even if Barkley was giving weight to the team’s overall record in his selection process, picking Brown over Giannis doesn’t make sense. The Bucks have lost only four more games than the Celtics.

The 30-year-old Bucks superstar has put up MVP-worthy numbers so far this season. He is averaging 31.5 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 35 games while shooting over 60% from the field. Fortunately, Giannis was picked on the official East All-Star starters list alongside Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Post Edited By: Satagni Sikder
Charles Barkley Giannis Antetokounmpo

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Prateek Singh

Prateek is a Senior NBA Writer for The SportsRush. He has over 900 published articles under his name. Prateek merged his passion for writing and his love for the sport of basketball to make a career out of it. Other than basketball, he is also an ardent follower of the UFC and soccer. Apart from the world of sports, he has followed hip-hop religiously and often writes about the origins, evolution, and the biggest stars of the music genre.

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