Inside the NBA analyst Charles Barkley made it very clear in recent weeks that he is not a fan of Warriors supporters or the city of San Francisco. Thursday night, fans of the team went a little too far in retaliation.
After Golden State booked yet another trip to the NBA Finals with a 120–110 victory against the Mavericks, a number of rowdy fans threw T-shirts and garbage at Barkley while he was live on the air during postgame coverage. Barkley got up from his seat like he was going to throw something back at them, but Barkley’s colleagues Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith pleaded with Barkley to sit down.
The former NBA MVP seemed to be upset at first, but later had a smirk on his face as he returned to his seat.
It was an interesting scene, to say the least:
While Barkley’s feud with Warriors fans is amusing, it’s dangerous to normalize the idea that throwing things at analysts is O.K.
Meanwhile, the Warriors are headed to their sixth NBA Finals appearance in the past eight seasons and are looking to lock up their fourth title within that span. They will face either the Celtics or the Heat.