When LeBron James took a direct jab at Charles Barkley during his latest Nike commercial, "Rise," many were expecting Barkley to respond with some jabs of his own.
However, when asked for his opinion during his pregame analysis of the NBA season opener on TNT, Barkley had just one critique.
"It was too long."
The 90-second spot features LeBron repeatedly asking his critics "What should I do?" At one point during the commercial, James calls Barkley out for his own criticism of The Decision by referencing Barkley's infamous "I am not a role model" commercial before saying "Hi, Chuck," before biting into a doughnut.
Soon after LeBron opted to join the Miami Heat, Barkley said he would "never be [Michael] Jordan," and that it would have been "honorable" for him to stay in Cleveland.
Barkley still believes those things, and holds true to his opinion of LeBron James' decision. During the pregame broadcast, Barkley insisted LeBron needs to own up to his mistake of leaving Cleveland in the dark when making the decision to move to South Beach. But that doesn't mean he thinks LeBron is any less talented.
Barkley said he still believed James is one of the most talented players in the NBA — if not the most talented. He just believes the way in which he went about his transition from Cleveland to Miami was all wrong.
"I just hope he someday looks back and says 'I wish I did things differently,'" Barkley said during the broadcast.
Dwyane Wade also called out the big man during the TNT broadcast on Tuesday. During the halftime show, a pre-taped segment showed Wade asking Barkley when he was going to stop hating on the Heat.
"Dwyane man, you know I love you. I don't hate on the Heat" Barkley laughed. "I didn't criticize LeBron, I gave him my opinion, I wish him the best."
