Getty/Jason Miller Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors speaks during a 2022 NBA All-Star practice at Wolstein Center in Cleveland.
The Inside the NBA crew has been pretty open of criticizing players from today, and that has not gone over well with a lot of the players. Over the years, Charles Barkley and Warriors Draymond Green have been jawing at each other for years.
During the 2018 playoffs between the Pelicans and Warriors, Green was seen talking trash to then-Pelicans guard Rajon Rondo. That clip aired on Inside the NBA, and Barkley went off at Green.
“I want to punch him in the face so bad,” Barkley says. “I’m just telling you. I want to punch his a** in the face. I do.”
Green is not one to back down from any fight or confrontation, and he was animated in his response after the game.
Draymond Green with a strong response to Charles Barkley saying he would punch him in the face
Whether this was serious beef or entertainment, The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch reported that their jabs back and forth led to Green signing a deal with Turner Sports earlier this year.
“The humorous exchanges led in 2020 to Green’s agent reaching out to Turner Sports executives to pitch Green as someone who could be great on sports television.”
Charles Barkley and Draymond Green Get In-Depth About Feud
A couple months back, Green was on ESPN’s Manningcast on Monday Night Football and the Dubs forward was asked about his feud with Barkley.
Draymond’s story about his relationship with Charles Barkley 😂
This was the first time that Green publicly talked about the squabble. Even though, they seemed to have mended fences, Green admitted he wanted to fight him when he walked up to the set.
During a recent episode on The Draymond Green show, Barkley was on and they both spoke about the spat publicly for the first time together.
“I was coming on there, we had been talking back and forth in the media, you said you were going to punch me in my face, I said I was going to take your job, we can go on and on and on, it went on for years,” Green begins. “The moment I walked onto that set, you got out of your seat, ‘what’s up Draymond, how you doing?’
I’ll be 100 percent honest with you, I was walking up there like whatever happened happened if he says something to me, wants to punch me, I’m ready to go there. And you disarmed me so fast, like ‘what’s up man how you doing, it’s great to see you, welcome.’ I’m just sitting there like…what the hell.”
Barkley’s greeting left Green confused. Obviously, Barkley has been doing this for over 20 years, so he understands how some things he says or does are just for entertainment.
“Some people don’t realize, at one or two o’clock in the morning sometimes you’re like this dude is driving me crazy tonight,” Barkley says. “He’s arguing with the refs all night and then Shaq said ‘what do you want to do?’ and I said ‘I just want to punch him in the face.’ And what pissed me off about that night, to be honest with you, I was joking around and then a reporter asked you that and then … when I heard him ask you that question, I thought ‘oh man this dude is going to think I’m serious about punching him.’ I’m not ever going to punch an NBA player because we’re all in the same family.”
Barkley has a point. At the end of the day, they are all family. Only a select few can say they played in the NBA at one time.
Draymond Green Reminds Charles Barkley of a Specific Player in His Era
Barkley played during the era when it was most physical. Whether it be the Bad Boy Pistons or the 90s Knicks, Barkley knows a thing or two about hard-nosed players. There was a specific player that reminded Barkley of Green.
“You know what’s really funny,” Barkley reveals. “You remind me a lot of Dennis Rodman. Like, I want to play with you but you’d be annoying as f*** to play against. I saw Dennis at the (NBA 75th Anniversary Team) thing and we hugged each other like brothers. He’s somebody that I really like a lot and respect. You’re the same way. It would be annoying to play against you.”
In terms of playing style, Rodman and Green do have a lot of similarities with how gritty and hard both played. Even their hot temper and capricious personalities were similar on the court. Green’s playmaking skills would be the one thing that differs drastically from what Rodman bought to the table.
It’s truly great that Green is on the show with Barkley and the rest of the crew. With how much they roast each other, Green is a natural and seems to have found his calling after his playing career.
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Draymond Green Sounds off on Squashed Charles Barkley Beef: ‘What the Hell’