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If Charles Barkley and Draymond Green were paired in a boxing match instead of just sparring verbally, evidence suggests the Round Mound of Rebound would be winning on points. And rebounds. And assists.

Barkley’s latest jab at the Golden State Warriors forward was apparently too close for comfort because Green exploded at the player-turned-analyst on Friday.

Charles Barkley has Draymond Green fuming

Basketball has been anything but fun for Draymond Green this season. He’s playing on a team with the worst record in the NBA largely because Stephen Curry has missed most of the season and Klay Thompson has missed all of it while recovering from injuries.

Green has had injury issues of his own, but the Golden State Warriors had hoped he could step into a more prominent role without Curry and Thompson. Instead, he’s at or near his lowest output in six years for points, rebounds, and assists.

Green has been a target before of Charles Barkley, the retired player who’s now a TNT basketball analyst and makes news occasionally with his strong opinions. His latest criticism of the eighth-year player out of Michigan State was too much for Green, who boasted to reporters on Friday that he would take Barkley’s job “sooner than he thinks.”

“Barkley should stop before I take his job. Because I can do that well, too. … He also can’t talk basketball with me either. Not smart enough, not qualified. No rings, can’t sit at this table.”

Draymond Green

What was the latest comment that angered Green?

Draymond Green’s comments Friday came after being asked about Golden State Warriors fans’ growing frustration with the team’s 14-49 record. His answer began with dismissiveness about the opinion of fans and evolved into anger aimed at Charles Barkley.

Barkley took criticism in 2018 for saying he wanted to punch Draymond Green in the face. Green dared him to do so, but they were later put on the air together and seemed to resolve their issues for the time being. But Barkley rekindled the feud earlier this season by commenting that Green could only be counted on for “his normal triple-single,” a play on the triple-double statistic in the NBA tracking points, rebounds, and assists in games.

Green retorted with various comments, including repeating the frequently used criticism in the basketball community that Barkley had never won an NBA championship ring.

Barkley vs. Green: The tale of the tape

Charles Barkley was anything but a bit player in his NBA career. Undersized at 6-foot-6 as a power forward with the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, and Houston Rockets, he averaged at least 14 points a game in all 16 seasons and at least 10 rebounds in each season after his rookie year.

Barkley finished with 23,757 points and 12,546 rebounds in averaging a double-double for his career. He never shot over 50% from the field in his final seven seasons but his career field-goal percentage was 54.1%.

Although he never played for an NBA championship team, Barkley earned Olympic gold medals alongside his fellow NBA stars in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996.

Draymond Green is also undersized for the role of forward at 6-foot-6. Selected in the second round on the 2012 NBA draft, he moved into a starting role in 2014.

Green’s best season thus far was 2015-2016, when he made his first of three consecutive NBA All-Star Game appearances and averaged 14 points and 9.5 rebounds. His career averages are 9.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. He’s just a career 43.5% shooter.

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Staff Writer, Producer - Motorsports

John Moriello

John Moriello started covering sports in 1982, began digital publishing in 1995, and joined Sportscasting in 2020. A graduate of St. John Fisher University, he finds inspiration in the underdogs and the fascinating stories sports can tell (both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat). John expertly covers all aspects of NASCAR.

Beginning with his 2014 coverage at Fox Sports of the aftermath of the dirt-race tragedy in which Kevin Ward Jr. died after being struck by a car driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, John has excelled as a journalist who specializes in the motorsports world. He previously spent more than three decades covering high school sports and worked as a beat writer covering Big East football and basketball, but NASCAR is now where the true expertise falls.

John is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), the President of the New York State Sportswriters Association, and a two-time Best of Gannett winner for print and online collaborations whose work has appeared on FoxSports.com and MaxPreps.com.