Charles Barkley had a relatively friendly feud with Warriors fans during their five-game series with the Mavericks. That continued on Thursday, but things may have gone a bit too far on the part of the fans.
Things started innocently enough. The San Francisco crowd let Barkley hear it during TNT's "Inside The NBA" pregame show ahead of Game 5.
The fans busted out a "Chuck, you suck" chant given that the former NBA star turned analyst had picked the Mavericks to win the series.
The "Chuck you suck" chants are back and @SHAQ is loving it 😅 pic.twitter.com/HKT1nGzirk
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 27, 2022
However, after the game, things got a bit rowdier. Warriors fans — exultant after their team dispatched Dallas 120-110 to clinch passage to the NBA Finals — once again let Barkley have it. This time, however, it wasn't just with words.
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The crowd on hand at the postgame show tossed objects at Barkley. At least two T-shirts made it to the stage while other projectiles could be seen coming from the audience.
Barkley did little to calm the crowd. He stood up and made a few pump fakes like he was going to throw something back into the crowd. All the while, his co-hosts Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith pleaded with him to sit down.
— sportsvids99 (@sportsvids991) May 27, 2022
Barkley was unharmed in the incident and was smiling as a result of the attention he elicited. After that brief interaction with the fans, the show continued without incident and featured interviews with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
How did the feud between Barkley and the Warriors fans originate? It stemmed from the beginning of the series when Barkley picked the Mavericks because of his hatred for the Warriors' fans, who he called a "pain in the ass."
"I don't think they're the best team," Barkley said of the Mavericks on TNT. "I just cannot pick with the Warriors because I hate their fans. Their fans are obnoxious. I actually like the players on the team and the coach, but I hate their fans. I just wanna see these people suffer. I want to see these losers suck."
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Barkley kept adding fuel to the fire after that point. He called San Francisco "hell," chanted "you suck too" back to the Warriors fans after Golden State won Game 1 and even rode a horse before Game 3 to support the Mavericks.
Charles Barkley just rode in on a horse. Mavs in 3 pic.twitter.com/kKXnRSoWuf
— Nick Angstadt (@NickVanExit) May 23, 2022
And after the Warriors' series win, Barkley still refused to pick them to win the title; instead, he picked the Celtics.
It's reasonable that the Warriors fans would have beef with Barkley after that. Still, they shouldn't be chucking anything onstage at the NBA legend. Instead, they can follow 49ers legend Jerry Rice's lead and find a way to epically troll Barkley on social media platforms like Instagram.
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That's a solid dig from the former 49ers star. Perhaps the Warriors fans will take a page out of his book ahead of the 2022 NBA Finals.
