With a league-best 64-18 record and three losses, the Boston Celtics have completed an amazing 2023–24 Championship season. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown played a huge role in that victory, with Brown even earning MVP honors.
Unfortunately, NBA missed a chance to showcase their talents, especially with the Team USA Olympic squad, which made them frustrated. In Charles Barkley’s opinion, this is a grave error since it will only serve to energize the Celtics for the 2024–25 season.
On the recent Bill Simmons Podcast episode, Barkley said, “They were already terrific players… They are the defending champs, that’s gonna take their confidence to another level. The NBA has found ways to piss them off this summer, how about that. Only the NBA can do that. Let’s piss off two of the top-10 players in the NBA as they’re coming off a championship.”
Despite being one of the best players on the championship team, Team USA did not select Brown for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Tatum, on the other hand, was picked, but he spent most of the time on the bench. It seems like Barkley picked a valid point to criticize the NBA.
Charles Barkley criticizes Phoenix Suns for lack of leadership
Charles Barkley has strong feelings about how things are going with the Phoenix Suns right now. With Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal as their “Big 3,” the Suns were a favorite to win the NBA title last season, but they didn’t make it. Many analysts thought they would at least make it to the Western Conference Finals, but they lost in the first round.
Charles Barkley believes the team lacks identity and leadership, reflecting widespread criticism of their performance. In the same podcast, he boldly claims, “They got no identity and no leadership. You gotta have a style of play. You gotta have leadership. The Suns have not proven they can do that yet..”
