Tuesday night marked what could be the second-to-last NBA broadcast on TNT as the Indiana Pacers moved the New York Knicks to the brink of elimination. As has been the case for many months now, everyone was getting introspective about Inside the NBA as the iconic studio show wraps up on one network and prepares for another in ESPN.
Charles Barkley, who has not been afraid to stoke the flames of rivalry between his current outfit and future one, offered some helpful advice for ESPN for them to take before he goes over there.
“Hey, ESPN, I love you guys,” he said. “Don’t try to make Anthony Edwards the face of the NBA.”
Edwards and the Timberwolves are down 3–1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals. It’s very unlikely any ESPN pundit will go on air saying Edwards is the face of the NBA today. It’s even more unlikely they will do that should Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Co. advance to the NBA Finals. But one can never be too careful.
Who does Barkley think is the face of the NBA? Well, it’s actually three faces.
“The face of the NBA is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Joker and Giannis,” he said. “You can’t give it to people, they have to take it. And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is taking it.”
Some would say when you have two faces of the NBA you don’t have one. But when you have three? Then you might have one. All of these measurements are inexact and subjective.
