Stephen A. Smith's strong message after Charles Barkley makes viral comments

03/07/2025 03:09 PM

Charles Barkley and Stephen A. Smith were hot names on the internet on Thursday night/Friday morning, as fans reacted to viral moments involving each outspoken television personality. The latter, who first explained his heated interaction with LeBron James following the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over the New York Knicks, decided to address Barkley’s fiery ESPN rant.

The Hall of Fame forward-turned-legendary-analyst took aim at the network’s extensive coverage of the Lakers and Golden State Warriors in TNT’s pregame show for Boston Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers. Barkley banged the drum for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder, two teams that have been dominant all season-long, declaring that they should receive more national attention.

He specifically alluded to comments that 2008 NBA champion and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins made about the LeBron James and Luka Doncic-led Lakers. Barkley called Perkins a “fool and idiot” for saying LA saved the NBA with their collective star power. Smith challenged Barkley’s stance.

“Barkley does television, he’d never be accused of knowing television,” the face of ESPN said on Friday’s episode of “First Take.” “That would be {TNT’s “Inside the NBA” host} Ernie Johnson who handles that responsibility. Maybe Charles Barkley should look at his rundowns from time to time… The fact of the matter is some stories get a higher profile than others because they resonate with the viewing public, and in television that matters. It’s called ratings.”

"We run from nothing."

—@stephenasmith's response to Charles Barkley's recent comments pic.twitter.com/8E8uODSGTM

— First Take (@FirstTake) March 7, 2025

Is Charles Barkley not seeing the whole picture?

Stephen A. Smith also made an effort to extinguish the rage Kendrick Perkins was apparently feeling toward Charles Barkley after the latter’s critical remarks. “That’s how Barkley talks,” Smith said. “I’ve known Charles Barkley for over 25 years. He calls {friend and co-worker Kenny Smith} a fool every show. Charles Barkley is one of the sweetest human beings you will ever find on the planet. He means no harm.”

Perkins might not be so quick to heed his colleague’s words, considering this is not the first time Barkley has cut into him on TV. ESPN and TNT Sports are partnering together to produce “Inside the NBA,” starting next season, so the potential exchanges between these two bold individuals will be worth monitoring.

Smith circled back to his original point and further explained why he believes Barkley’s claim about ESPN’s infatuation with certain teams is inaccurate. “Here’s where he’s wrong,” Smith said. “I’m sick and tired of people acting like ‘oh my goodness, we only talk about the Cowboys during the NFL season, only talk about the Lakers during the basketball season.’ That is factually incorrect… We talk about a multitude of topics. {First Take} is on two hours a day, 10 hours a week live.”

Both men make valid arguments. ESPN and other networks primarily cover a few select franchises and athletes, but the data shows that most viewers are interested in those topics. The growth of sports media enables fans to seek the content they want from a variety of platforms, which serves to combat the Lakers and Warriors bloat that some may experience.

Charles Barkley might just have to get used to hearing about both of those squads as long as they are winning, and as long as LeBron James and Stephen Curry are in the NBA.

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