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No One Asked Charles Barkley To Choose Between Stephen Curry & Isiah Thomas- He Still Chose to Do a Rage-Bait

Published 05/04/2024, 12:00 AM EDT

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Some controversies in the NBA world just refuse to die. The most infamous one amongst them involves former Detroit Pistons player Isiah Thomas and the 1992 Olympics Dream Team. Despite being one of the best NBA players of that era, Thomas was not invited to join the star-studded roster which included Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, etc. 32 years after they played, one member of the roster has gone out to send his flowers to the Pistons legend, even if it came at the expense of putting down the stats of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.

A few hours ago, 76ers legend Charles Barkley appeared for an interview on the ‘Dan Patrick Show’. During the same, he highlighted feeling bad for Isiah Thomas since he never got the “love and respect that he deserved”.

“If I was in a game …. If I had to choose between Steph Curry and Isiah Thomas, I’d probably go with Isiah in a scenario,” said Barkley. “I Love Steph Curry, I love Isiah but if I had one guy to choose between those two, I’m not ever going to choose against Isiah”.

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When Barkley was later asked whether he was involved in the discussion to keep the Pistons legend out of the Olympic Dream team, he wholeheartedly denied it. While he did hear rumours that it was Michael Jordan who did not want the player on the team, he didn’t want to dive further into the discussion since the whole issue was “between them (Jordan and Thomas)”.

Barkley’s above remarks were just another instance of the former player refusing to place Stephen Curry on a high pedestal. While he may seldom hesitate in praising other players, it’s the Warriors star with whom a certain tough love relationship. Barkley’s co-hosts over at ‘NBA on TNT’ know this too, as highlighted from a recent incident.

Shaquille O’Neal apologized to Stephen Curry after Charles Barkley was the “worst presenter ever”

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Almost a week ago, Charles Barkley and the rest of the ‘NBA on TNT’ crew held a special segment to announce the winner of the ‘NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year’ award. Despite not being able to make it to the playoffs, Stephen Curry was the one who took the prestigious title home. The way that Barkley announced the winner did not bode well with his co-host Shaquille O’Neal, who jokingly said “You’re the worst presenter ever”.

After the crew invited the man of the hour for the interview, Shaq kicked off the conversation by stating “I’d like to apologize for Barkley messing up your moment”. The 7ft 1 legend’s remark got a chuckle out of both Curry and Barkley.

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Do you agree with Charles Barkley’s opinion? Or is it your belief that Stephen Curry is at a higher level than Isiah Thomas? Let us know in the comments down below.

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Written by:

Ashmit Kumar

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Ashmit is an NBA Content Analyst at EssentiallySports. Having started as a writer, he specializes in writing captivating stories that include the elements of in-depth coverage of teams, players and more. Due to his knowledge of the technicalities of the sport, Ashmit writes perspective pieces that provide well-researched analysis.
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Edited by:

Saumya Khanduja