Was Charles Barkley drunk during the NBA All-Star draft?
Barkley got called out by Shaquille O’Neal, who said he sounded drunk while discussing LeBron James’ All-Star reserve selections during the TNT broadcast ahead of the 2023 All-Star game.
“Ain’t no bad picks today, all these guys are great,” Barkley said slowly, seemingly dragging out his words.
That’s when O’Neal chimed in: “Why does it sound like you’re drunk? You alright?”
Barkley replied, “No man, it’s my mic,” to which O’Neal disagreed.
“No, it ain’t the mic, it’s you,” O’Neal said before he mocked Barkley’s attempt at saying Mark Cuban’s name. “… What the hell are you drinking?”
Barkley continued to say it was his mic that was causing his speech to sound different, adding, “No, it’s my mic, I got a delay.”
Ernie Johnson, who also sounded like he had audio issues at one point, weighed in, saying, “Always blame it on the equipment.”
O’Neal, though, wasn’t buying any excuses.
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“No that’s you, you’re drunk,” he said laughing. “I want to thank Patron for sponsoring Chuck.”
Then, Kenny Smith, who was sitting in between O’Neal and Barkley, entered the conversation.
“This is a dry state,” he said repeatedly.
At one point during the All-Star festivities, Barkley didn’t sound thrilled about the state laws in Utah.
“These people going to heaven,” Barkley said. “There ain’t nothing to do in this boring-ass city. It’s a great city, but ain’t nothing to do here. Can’t smoke. Can’t drink. These people going to heaven.”
It’s unclear what exactly went on behind the scenes at TNT during its 2023 NBA All-Star broadcast. There seemed to be audio issues on a number of occasions throughout the night – including during the draft portion when O’Neal and Barkley were heard bickering on a hot mic.
“Say something Chuck, I’ll smack you with this mic right now,” O’Neal can be heard saying while Johnson was on stage facilitating the draft.
“I’ll tell you what, there ain’t enough people to pull me off of your ass,” Barkley replied, to which O’Neal said, “Don’t say another word.”
When Barkley mocked O’Neal, saying, “another word,” the pair can be heard laughing before the audio issues ended.
