Former NBA star forward Charles Barkley slammed the city of San Francisco during the live broadcast of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.
While covering the game on TNT’s alternate broadcast, Barkley discussed the 2024 All-Star game location in Indianapolis with several other analysts, including Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors. Green got the conversation rolling when he complained about the frigid temperatures in Indianapolis over the weekend.
“Hey Reggie we love you, let’s not have another All-Star [game] in Indiana. Let’s let this be the last one, my friend,” Green said.
Then Barkley took a shot at San Francisco, the home of Green’s Warriors.
“Hey Reggie, if you had a chance of being in the cold, or being around a bunch of homeless crooks in San Francisco, which would you take?” Barkley asked, sparking the ire of the other analysts.
“We love San Francisco,” commentator Candace Parker said.
“No we don’t,” Barkley shot back. “You can’t even walk around down there.”
Green, who appeared frustrated with Barkley’s criticism of the Bay Area, replied, “Yes, you can walk around!”
“Yeah with a bulletproof vest,” Barkley said.
Barkley out here ROASTING the city of San Francisco. #NBAAllStar2024 #Indy pic.twitter.com/arIwbRYufr
— Hammer and Nigel (@hammerandnigel) February 19, 2024
Barkley, who makes a habit of commenting on political issues and slamming both the Right and the Left, has criticized San Francisco in the past. During Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks, the roof at American Airlines Arena in Dallas began leaking during a rain storm, causing the game to be delayed. Barkley said the worst part about the rain in Dallas was that it wasn’t raining in San Francisco.
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“The bad thing about all this rain, it’s not raining in San Francisco to clean up those dirty-a** streets they got there,” Barkley said. “San Francisco, it’s a great city, but all that dirtiness and homelessness, y’all gotta clean that off the streets.”
Authorities in San Francisco, a city that has experienced record overdose deaths and a continuing homeless problem in recent months, were slammed in November for clearing homeless encampments and open-air drug markets before top world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Xinping, arrived in the city for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC).
San Francisco is set to host the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend with the All-Star Game taking place at the Warriors’ Chase Arena.