The latest SF provocation from TNT jokester-analyst Charles Barkley was him claiming Thursday night that “I’m not going to that rat-infested place out in San Francisco” for the All-Star Game, though he has contractual obligations to attend and he surely will.

If you’ve been watching the very funny halftime and postgame shows of TNT’s Inside the NBA this year, you know that witty analyst Charles Barkley has been getting away with being completely out of line. “We goin’ home early,” Barkley often declares at halftime of uncompetitive games, voicing his desire to not stay for the second half, often adding “Ain’t nobody watching!”

Any other broadcaster would be fired in a hot minute for expressing on-air their desire to not work the remainder of the night, or to acknowledge that the broadcast might be losing viewers. But Barkley is allowed to do this, because it is hilarious, and the show’s chemistry thrives on his insult humor.

On Thursday night’s postgame highlights, Barkley continued his jokes about San Francisco, which now date back at least 17 years. And Barkley claimed he might not be attending next month’s NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco calling it a “rat-infested place.”


This is being interpreted as a legitimate boycott threat by some easily duped media outlets, but that’s misinterpreting what Barkley said. He was giving praise during a highlight segment to Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham, and said “If he don’t make the All-Star team, I’m not going. I’m not going to that rat-infested place out in San Francisco.”

“Y’all are not gonna make me like San Francisco,” Barkley added. “No. Nope, nope, nope.”

The Chronicle too is covering this like Barkley might not come, though Barkley will be here with certainty, unless Charles Barkley or San Francisco gets hit by a meteor within the next month. He is contractually obligated to be here, and his name is even part of the promotions.


This year’s game has a new format where TNT analysts Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Candace Parker will choose the players, and those teams then compete in a four-team tournament. The teams will be called Team Charles, Team Shaq, Team Kenny and Team Candace. Barkley is literally part of the show, of course he will be there. And he attends the All-Star game every single year, as seen below in footage below from last year’s game.

And he got some dings in at San Francisco in that one too, knowing the game would be here the following year. After Draymond Green complained about the cold weather at last year's host site Indianapolis (and this starts at the 1:59 mark), Barkley says, “If you had your choice of being cold, or being around a bunch of homeless crooks in San Francisco. What would you do?” He added, “You can’t even walk around down there.”

“Yes you can walk around!” Draymond replies.

“Yeah, with a bulletproof vest,” Barkley shoots back.

Green points out, “You live in Philadelphia, Chuck!”

This is all standard-fare Charles Barkley trolling of individual cities, and should not be seen as a legitimate rivalry. It’s just the typical morning zoo-style antics of Inside the NBA. Consider the video above, which highlights Barkley’s pointless and wholly invented beef with San Antonio, Texas, and his gripes about those “big ol’ women in San Antonio.”

Related: TNT’s Charles Barkley Escalates Beef With SF, Tells Warriors Fans He’ll ‘F*** Your Mama’ [SFist]

Image: GLENDALE, ARIZONA - APRIL 08: Basketball analyst Charles Barkley on air before the National Championship game between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Connecticut Huskies at State Farm Stadium on April 08, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)