“Isiah Thomas is the greatest pure point guard of all time!”: When Charles Barkley snubbed the likes of Steve Nash and Chris Paul during Michael Jordan’s ‘Last Dance’ docuseries

Charles Barkley once claimed that Isiah Thomas is the greatest pure point guard in the history of the NBA along with John Stockton. 

If there’s one player who can comment on superstars in the NBA in the 1980s and 90s, it’s Charles Barkley. the ‘Round Mound of Rebound’ was in and around some of the greatest players in the history of the league, including Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Larry Bird, and of course, Isiah Thomas. 

Isiah Thomas and Charles Barkley never really had a rivalry during their heyday but shared a similar playstyle in terms of the physicality they brought to the game. IT was the engine that powered the ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons offense while Chuck was known to use the entirety of his body to get to where he wanted in the paint.

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Since the two weren’t ‘sworn enemies’ due to the lack of stakes in their matchups against one another, Barkley has delved into several explanations as to why Thomas is greater than people give him credit. 

Isiah Thomas is the greatest pure point guard in NBA history, according to Charles Barkley. 

The ‘Last Dance’ docuseries from last summer seemed to put the entirety of the sports world on hold as everybody tuned on Sundays to watched two new episodes drop. The middle few episodes of the 10-part docuseries focused on Isiah Thomas and his Pistons and the disrespect they showed Michael Jordan and his Bulls during the 1991 ECF. 

Charles Barkley however, though he did not defend the Pistons for leaving the floor without shaking any of the Bulls’ hands, he did defend Isiah Thomas in a different aspect. While in an interview with ESPN, Chuck claimed that IT and John Stockton are the two greatest pure point guards of all time.

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In terms of what a point guard was meant to do, IT and Stockton are in the uppermost echelon of this category. The former was one of the greatest ball handlers in the history of the league and had incredible court vision, helping him orchestrate entire offenses. 

However, it does bring into question guys like Steve Nash and Chris Paul for the ‘greatest pure point guard’ debate. Nash is undoubtedly the greatest fast-break threat in modern NBA history due to his fast-twitch passes to open teammates while CP3 is a genuine bucket-getter in his own right. 

All in all, Charles Barkley saying IT is the greatest pure point guard of all time is not a stretch by any means.