Stephen A. Smith replies to Charles Barkley’s rant: ‘Attach a name to it’

It did not take long for Stephen A. Smith to respond to Charles Barkley’s criticisms of ESPN’s NBA coverage.

During Thursday’s Inside the NBA, Barkley went into a lengthy rant criticizing ESPN, noting more than once that, “we’re going to be working for” ESPN after this season. The bulk of Barkley’s rant centered on what he saw as ESPN devoting too much attention to the resurgent Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, feeling that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder deserve more attention for being the league’s best teams all season. Kendrick Perkins, who quickly replied to Barkley on social media, was the only ESPN talent specifically named by Barkley. But it seems as though Smith felt at least some of Barkley’s comments were aimed at him.

While he had a less combative response than Perkins, Smith issued a reply on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday night.

“Yo Chuck, stop the b.s. with the “y’all.” Attach a name to it,” Smith said. “I know I’ve been talking about @cavs being the No.1 threat to the @Celtics . Once you come over here, there’s gonna be some folks waiting to call YOU a fool. P.S. You know I love ya, though. See y’all soon. Yo @TheJetOnTNT ….workbook those free throws😀. Love y’all.”

To be fair, the primary target of Barkley’s criticisms regarding the Cavaliers and Thunder being overlooked was Perkins, who he did call out by name. Barkley was also critical of ESPN’s “face of the league” conversation and the ongoing GOAT debate. And while those seemed to be aimed more at Smith than anyone else at ESPN, they were only a brief part of his Thursday night rant.