Charles Barkley didn’t hide his message for Stephen A. Smith when TNT and ESPN combined their studio shows for NBA In-Season Tournament coverage Thursday.
The Hall of Famer started by calling host Malika Andrews “fantastic.”
For insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Barkley said: “You know how I feel about you.”
Barkley then thanked commentator Michael Wilbon for “being my mentor.”
He even told former Warriors general manager Bob Myers that “I love you.”
But for Smith, Barkley had a special comment planned.
“Let me tell you something, Stephen A. If you come over here with all that loud ass talking …” Barkley said. “Hey, this ain’t ‘First Take,’ this gonna be the first ass whooping you take if you come over here with that loud ass talking.”
The group of hosts and analysts sat at separate studio sets outside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the site of the In-Season Tournament semifinals and finals games.
Andrews, Smith, Myers, Wilbon and Wojnarowski filled one table.
Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith took their usual spots at the TNT set.
Their overlap started pregame, and then when the semifinals started Thursday afternoon, the Pacers defeated the Bucks, 128-119, behind 27 points and 15 assists from budding star Tyrese Hailburton.
They’ll face the winner of the Lakers and the Pelicans — who meet Thursday night — in the title game Saturday.
And for one night, it allowed for the separate groups of pregame and postgame broadcasters to overlap, interrupt each other and make jokes — with Barkley, of course, leading everything.
In addition to his jab at Smith, he also congratulated Myers for leaving the Warriors, who are 10-11 this season, and “jumping off the Titanic before it sunk,” which prompted a “no comment” and a reminder that he still had friends there.
Myers stepped down in May after guiding the Warriors to four NBA titles and serving as the architect of their dynasty.
Barkley also joked that Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has been playing so well that even Clippers guard James Harden — who forced a trade out of Philadelphia earlier this season — “wanted to be traded to Indiana.”
The Pacers have won four of their past six games, and Haliburton has played a key role in that stretch, and he dropped 27 points in Indiana’s win in the semifinals over Milawaukee on Thursday.
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