Charles Barkley has been a vocal critic but staunch fan of the Thunder for a long time.
But Thursday night, as the Thunder stumbled to their sixth loss in eight games since the NBA All-Star break, Barkley said he has seen enough. The Inside the NBA TNT studio analyst declared he has jumped off the Thunder bandwagon.
“I’m going to go ahead and say it right now. I’m off the Oklahoma City bandwagon. I am totally off. They are not going to win (the championship). But I will tell you this. You know whose bandwagon I’m on? The Los Angeles Clippers. If Blake Griffin comes back and dominates down low, the L.A. Clippers got a chance of winning a world championship…They’ve got the best leader in Chris Paul. They won’t be making those mistakes that the Thunder make. Chris Paul’s going to get them into something every time.”
Barkley’s biggest beefs with the Thunder through the years have been the team’s reliance on its star tandem of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, its shot selection and its poor late-game execution.
— The Oklahoman
