Charles Barkley is one of the most prominent names in the world of NBA coverage and has been for the past couple of decades. The Hall of Famer is an entertaining presence who is prone to the occasional fit of controversy, especially when it comes to his criticism of modern stars.
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As an ‘old head’, Barkley has often weaponized the ‘we did it before you‘ trope to go at the generations that came after. Various stars have come out in vehement opposition to such talk.
But the Chuckster doesn’t seem to be heading for change anytime soon. When asked about the same on All the Smoke, Barkley went on to elaborate on how he sees things in that regard.
Chuck describes how as a player, he wasn’t immune to such hazing too. And how his adjustment to the lay of the land was aided by the legendary Dr. J.
Julius Erving asked Charles Barkley to consider whether there was any truth to the criticism.
As the saying goes, there can be no smoke without a fire. Julius Erving, a veteran leader to the fledgling Barkley at Philly, told him how exactly to process or dismiss criticism that came his way.
To Dr. J, the first question was to look at whether there was any truth to what was being told. If there was, then the criticism was not only warranted but a way to improve yourself too.
Barkley believes that is exactly how it should be these days too. Although Chuck does admit that modern players do face a lot of unwarranted personal digs too while taking a shot at Skip Bayless who he admittedly “hates“.
Barkley was quick to point out how he resorts to no criticism that revolves around personal choices. While his punditry and analysis might make for jokes at times, the principle is definitely sound.
Chuck believes today’s players hate criticism.
While introducing Dr. J’s wise words, Barkley pointed out how criticism can be constructive too. The former MVP, in a way, describes how players should filter out what comes their way and work with it.
It’s inevitable that criticism comes their way with basketball being a very popular mode of entertainment. Barkley asks players to be less reactive to each and everything they hear.
The media pushes narratives and urges players to clap back. Chuck strongly believes such chatter needs to be shut down and not encouraged.
Barkley learned to process the attention from Dr. J and would expect today’s stars to take his word for it. And maybe, it might help too, at least to deal with the noise from Inside the NBA studio.
