Charles Barkley sets off Draymond Green with heated halftime rant- 'punch me in the face'
TNT analyst and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley had some charged words Tuesday night for Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green.
And Green, for his part, wants Barkley to stand by what he said, even if it means that his own face might be hurting afterward.
Confused? Well, to understand this escalating feud, it’s important to know why Barkley went on a mini-rant against Green in the first place.
Right before the halftime break in Game 2 of the second-round matchup between the Warriors and the Pelicans, Green got upset following a Klay Thommpson three-pointer at the buzzer.
Pelicans point guard Rajon Rondo took exception to Green’s attitude, and the two exchanged words.
Then, during the TNT halftime report, Barkley, a host of “Inside the NBA,” went off on Green, saying he wished the Warriors star would get punched in the face.
“I want to punch him in the face so bad,” Barkley said at one point. “I’m just telling you. I want to punch his a– in the face. I do.”
Barkley’s rant was a story in and of itself, but it’s what happened after Golden State’s victory that really grabbed people’a attention.
During his postgame news conference, Green was asked about Barkley’s remarks. He indicated that if Barkley really wants to punch him in the face, then that’s exactly what the TNT analyst should do.
“I heard what he said,” said Green, who scored 20 points, with 12 assists, nine rebounds and two blocks in Game 2. “A lot of guys talk on TV, stand behind a microphone and a TV screen. The fact of the matter is if you feel that strongly about something, he’s seen me a million times. If you feel that strongly about it, then punch me in my face when you see me.”
Green went on to say that if Barkley isn’t actually serious about getting into a physical altercation, then he should simply shut up.
“If you’re not going to punch me in my face when you see me, then shut up. It’s no different than somebody sitting behind a computer screen tweeting, ‘I’ll knock you out,’ and you never seen them in life. But he’s seen me a bunch of times, and he’ll see me again this year,” Green said.
“Punch me in the face when you see me, or if not no one cares what you would have done. You old and it is what is. So if you ain’t going to punch me when you see me, then stop talking about it. Period,” he added.
After his news conference, Green apparently kept on disparaging Barkley, this time saying his comments were embarrassing for TNT.
“I think it’s pretty sad. It’s probably something that needs to … when you look at the president of TNT, David Levy, which I know well, it’s kind of embarrassing on their behalf,” Green said, per The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami.
“I’m an employee of the NBA, he’s an employee of TNT. And you have your biggest sponsor, one of the faces of that company, saying that on national television. That’s embarrassing for them. So that’s something — a problem that they have,” he added.
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