Shannon Sharpe slams Charles Barkley for LeBron James criticism
The Cleveland Cavaliers went 7-8 in January, the first time LeBron James has had a losing record in a calendar month since February of 2006. LeBron has taken to publicly demanding improvement from his teammates, which led to former player and current TV analyst Charles Barkley calling James "inappropriate" and "whiny."
Barkley's comments did not sit idly with James, who bashed the 11-time All-Star -- calling him a "hater."
Shannon Sharpe echoed LeBron's sentiments Tuesday on Undisputed with a bit of a history lesson.
"At no point in time in [Barkley's] 16 years was he ever thought of as the best player in the NBA," Sharpe said. "LeBron James for the past 10 to 12 years has been the de facto best player in all of basketball."
The Undisputed host also highlighted Barkley's contribution to his era in the NBA. While Barkley was the NBA MVP in 1993, he still remains in the shadow of NBA greats.
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"Charles Barkley played in an era where he was never THE guy," Sharpe said. "He always had to take a back seat to Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isaiah Thomas, because what did they have that he never got? A championship."
Sharpe also touched on Barkley's off-court behavior. In 1997 while a member of the Houston Rockets, Barkley threw a man through a glass window and in 2008 he plead guilt to drunk-driving charges stemming from a New Year's Eve arrest in Arizona during which it was found that he had a blood-alcohol level of .149 percent.
"For you to do what you've done off the court, and for you to show up on the court out of shape and not ready to play every night, I'd be damned if you let me criticize my legacy," Sharpe said.
