Draymond Green’s one goal for the autumn years of his career: Avoid looking like Houston Rockets-era Charles Barkley.
The 36-year-old forward shared that sentiment with the 63-year-old Barkley before the New York Knicks‘ playoff win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
Filling in for Shaquille O’Neal, Green discussed the current state of his Golden State Warriors, who failed to reach the playoffs this season and now appear to be at a crossroads.
And when reminded by Barkley that everything ‘ends’ and ‘sports are for young people,’ Green came out swinging.
‘I think the goal is just to not look like you in the Houston Rockets uniform,’ Green told Barkley.
Sir Charles, for his part, remained stoic, while co-host Kenny Smith asked Green to explain himself.
Draymond Green was filling in for Shaquille O’Neal during Wednesday’s Inside the NBA
Charles Barkley faced an insult from Green, who disparagged Chuck’s time with the Rocmets
‘Did you see it?’ Green asked.
Barkley didn’t take the bait, but fans weren’t letting Green’s comment go uncorrected.
‘I generally love the show, but I turn it off when Draymond is on,’ one fan cracked on X.
‘Barkley was right,’ another fan remarked. ‘Green is a jerk.’
Another critic asked ‘why they have Green on that show’ – a decision they described as ‘beyond ridiculous.’
Barkley was coming off 10 straight All-Star selections when he was traded by Phoenix to Houston in 1996 for Chucky Brown, Mark Bryant, Sam Cassell and Robert Horry. But although Barkley faced criticism for his defense and conditioning in the late 1990s, he remained a solid post scorer and rebounder, averaging 17 points and 12.6 rebounds a game over his last four seasons in the NBA.
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Is Draymond Green justified in criticizing Charles Barkley’s late-career performance and legacy?
Barkley was coming off 10 straight All-Star selections when he was traded by Phoenix to Houston in 1996 for Chucky Brown, Mark Bryant, Sam Cassell and Robert Horry
And beyond his advancing age, Barkley’s scoring suffered because he was sharing the ball with future Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
Naturally, Barkley fans were quick to remind the former Defensive Player of the Year that his averages of 8.4 points and 5.5 rebounds a game in 2025-26 were a far cry from Chuck’s late-career production.
‘The lack of self awareness this guy has is amazing,’ one wrote on X. ‘Houston Chuck is better than peak Draymond.’
‘[I don’t know] why he said this cuz Charles’ last season was better than Draymonds (sic) best,’ another added.
