It’s rare for Charles Barkley to hop on to his brand new Instagram page. But today it was not all good news. Barkley and the NBA community are mourning the loss of Dikembe Mutombo to brain cancer. He was 58. Sir Charles often expresses his grief via media outlets. But considering Mutombo’s big presence during the court, Chuck had to personally post a tribute to him on Instagram. Amid the sad news, Paul George did something “turrible” to bring a few laughs. Even Chuck needed that mood-booster.

Paul George suited up in Philly colors for the 76ers media day. NBA on TNT caught up with George probably to ask his season opener predictions. From the first word, he pulled a familiar twang that any seasoned TNT viewer would recognize.

“Oh okay, put me on the spot, because let me tell you, you know, it’s going to be a special game between the 76ers, who I played for…” Played for? The Sixers lured PG-13 out of California with a $212 million contract only in July. But he’s imitating a certain 76ers legend who likes to remind everyone he was in Philly for the better part of the ’80s. “And that’s kind of who I’m going for and the Milwaukee Bucks. I’m looking forward to a really fun one. Hopefully both teams don’t come out ‘turrible.’  But, you know ‘guar-ran-tee’ Philadelphia 76ers win.”

If the ‘turrible’ and ‘guar-ran-tee’ didn’t clue you in already, PG is imitating Charles Barkley. What a way to kick off in Philadelphia!

While it also looks like he accurately read Chuck’s mind, the original responded in the comments himself. The blue tick bearing ‘@charleswbarkley’ commented with laughing emojis which cements this as the most spot-on prediction of himself.

Shortly after he signed with the Sixers, George went viral for commenting on ‘soft players’ in his Charles Barkley impression. Chuckster was on Podcast P where he pulled this impression live. “The thing about it is, you know Chuck, can I answer this one? Because, let me tell you one thing… what he does, I have heard a lotta guys kinda do the impersonation of me, but not all of’em are good, some of’em are just ‘turrible,”‘ he said leaving Chuck in splits.

Considering the news today, we, along with Chuck, needed PG’s humor to uplift our moods.

Charles Barkley mourns a friend

Blocker of shots, the originator of the iconic finger wave, clasher of Shaquille O’Neal, and 4x DPOY, Dikembe Mutombo, lost his battle to cancer on September 30. He first announced his diagnosis in 2022. Both Shaq and Chuck were among his former rivals and friends to pay condolences.

Barkley captioned his post on Instagram, “It’s a sad day. We lost a great basketball player, but more importantly a great man. Rest in peace, Big Fella.”

It accompanied a video where he said, “Hey, guys, Charles here. Tough news, tough news in the NBA today. One of the great people. He obviously was a great basketball player, but I’ve never met a nicer man… This is a sad day for our NBA family. I’ve never met a nicer man than Dikembe Mutombo. My heart goes out to his family; my heart goes out to his kids… We’ve lost a great man. Not just a great basketball player. A great man… Rest in peace big fella.”

There were epic moments in their overlapping careers when Mutombo brought out Chuck’s competitive side. Barkley famously talked trash in 1997 challenging Mutombo to block his shots.

Mutombo has a honorary presence on TNT too. The crew loves throwbacks of him bulldozing past Chuck and Shaq. His loss will be felt in the final season of Inside the NBA.