Charles Barkley responds to Draymond Green’s Rockets jab: ‘I never punch down’

Charles Barkley says he won’t get into a war of words or battle of stature with Draymond Green.

On Wednesday’s episode of “Inside the NBA,” the Golden State Warriors forward took a shot at the twilight years of Barkley’s Hall of Fame career, when he played for the Houston Rockets.

“I think the goal is just to not look like you in the Houston Rockets uniform,” Green said when Barkley suggested the Warriors’ run was over and Green would need to go elsewhere to compete for a title. “It’s ultimately the goal for us.”

Barkley didn’t respond to the jab on air. Two days later, the 1993 NBA MVP explained why he let the comment go.

“I never punch down,” Barkley said Friday on the “Bickley & Marotta” radio show in Arizona. “Draymond is a good player. We’re not on the same level …  I can hear, but I don’t have to respond every time somebody says something about me.”

Barkley sparked the feud with Green when he suggested that the Warriors’ dynasty is over. The Warriors finished 37-45 last season and lost in the Play-In Tournament. The core players on the team that won four NBA titles in eight seasons are aging out of their primes. Steph Curry is 37, Green, who can become a free agent, is 36, and 36-year-old Klay Thompson is now in Dallas. Head coach Steve Kerr even referred to the Warriors as a “fading dynasty” in December.

“It’s over for the Warriors,” Barkley said while Green was on set. “I mean, no disrespect, but it ends for every old team. You have your run. You get old. You all let Klay (Thompson) go. You and Steph (Curry are) on the back side of (your) careers. It just passed you by. You all had one of the greatest runs ever. You’re not in the playoffs. You think you’re going to get healthier for next year?

“You’re just going to get older. That’s no disrespect. You guys had one of the greatest runs of all time. If you want to compete, you’re going to have to leave there. If Steph wants to compete, he’s going to have to leave there. You’re going to have to make that decision.”

In snapping back, Green suggested that Barkley’s time with the Rockets was an example of him not aging gracefully. The Rockets acquired Barkley before the 1996-97 season when he was 33, hoping he’d be the missing piece to a core that included Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Barkley spent the final four years of his career with that franchise, averaging 16.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game across that span while making one All-Star team. Houston came close to breaking through in 1997 but lost to the Utah Jazz in six games in the Western Conference finals.

When fellow analyst Kenny Smith asked Green what Barkley in a Rockets uniform looked like, Green sarcastically offered another jab.

“Did you see it?” Green asked. “I saw it.”

Green is a four-time NBA champion (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022), four-time All-Star, and the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He has made nine All-Defensive teams, including five First Team honors, and has twice been named All-NBA. Barkley retired in 2000 with career averages of 22.1 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. His 23,757 points rank 31st on the NBA’s career scoring list.

In Barkley’s estimation, Green’s career averages of 8.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists trail too far behind his own to quibble over his historical standing. So he is willing to weather a few digs from the Warriors’ big man.

“Draymond is a really good player. He’s had a hell of a career,” Barkley said Friday. “But we’re not on the same level.”