Charles Barkley relates to the DrayMagic madness? Who saw that coming? Sure, Chuck has a history of brawling on and off the court. And he’s always advocating for players to be better than that. But he does understand what might be making Draymond Green have a problematic season.

After he was absent on TNT, fans finally got Charles Barkley’s hot take on the Green’s ejection from the Phoenix Suns game on The Dan Patrick Show. Instead of admonishment, Chuck tried to explain what was going on with Draymond Green while drawing from his own experience during the final years of his career.

“I started doing stupid stuff when I couldn’t play anymore…” Barkley confessed. He recalled an incident in particular with a former teammate, Othella Harrington. “It was very frustrating… Like my last two years with the Rockets, I sucked as a player. You know, I actually hit Othella Harrington.”

Despite how embarrassing he found his behavior, Chuck honestly described it. “I hit him in practice because he was working so hard. And there was nothing I could do about it. So I took him, I threw him down.” 

Things came to a head when former Houston Rockets pro-turned-coach. Rudy Tomjanovich, who had Barkley’s utmost respect, intervened. He took a vote and everyone decided Chuck won’t play. “I was humiliated but it was because I couldn’t play anymore, so I was playing dirty.” 

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Barkley played his final seasons in Houston from 1996 to 2000. The team also selected Allen Iverson’s Georgetown teammate, Harrington, in 1996. Injuries hampered him, bringing down his average and reducing his chances of a championship.

Chuck’s season-opener with the Rockets started with a fight with Charles Oakley, a suspension, and a fine. In one of his final games, both he and his TNT nemesis, Shaquille O’Neal, were ejected for fighting. These colleagues are empathetic about Green’s situation.

Charles Barkley sees Draymond Green’s struggle

In Golden State Warriors’ 116-119 loss to Phoenix, Green played a total of 7 minutes and made 2 points. He took a swing at Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic’s face and got ejected on a flagrant 2 foul. The NBA has put him on indefinite suspension. He served a 5-game suspension for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold earlier.

As the Chuckster told Patrick, “I see the same thing with Draymond. He’s not the same player, and he’s frustrated.” His advice to Green: don’t be like him. “You have to grow old gracefully because he’s accomplished a lot in this game. But when you can’t play anymore, it’s very very frustrating, and that’s what you see now from him.”

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Barkley was disappointed at Green’s lack of apology for letting his team down. We’ll soon see if Green takes the Barkley route any further.

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