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| If NBA players are dunking, passing or making that squeaking sound on the hardwood, it means it's time for Charles Barkley, studio analyst for Inside the NBA on TNT, to offer up his brutally candid opinions on all things basketball. |
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On who will win the championship: "I'm picking the Spurs to win it all. People forget they took Dallas to seven games. And I like what they did in the off-season. They got a little bit more athletic and it ain't like Tim Duncan's a 100 years old. He just had a bad foot all last season."
On the new ball: "The one thing I hate about the ball, is it always feels new. Half the guys say it's too sticky, the other half say it's too slippery. Those are really wide variations. When I played, we always wanted an old, used ball. We wanted one that had been worn down a little."
On the officials cracking down on players arguing calls: "I think it's good to a certain degree, because guys will complain after every single call. Players have a right to complain, but the refs don't miss every call."
On shaved heads: "I will say—not to sound racist—one of the great travesties of American history is white guys being afraid to shave their heads because they think they’re going to have an ugly head."
On trying to hold his breath under water last season like David Blaine: "I could have made it more than 30 seconds if those two assholes [Inside the NBA co-hosts Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson] hadn't been making me laugh all night."
4 all-time players he'd want on his team:
Michael Jordan
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
John Stockton
"Those are great guys, and really great players who really knew how to compete.”
3 all-time trash-talkers:
Gary Payton
Larry Bird
Reggie Miller
"I didn't talk a lot of trash when I played, but these guys were just great trash-talkers. Gary talked the whole time—he was funny."
2 favorite basketball nicknames:
Shawn Marion: "The Matrix"
Gary Payton: "The Glove"
"You've got to be a great player to get a nickname. Guys who can't play don't get a nickname. 'Sir Charles' worked out pretty good for me."
1 player who’ll go down as the greatest:
Michael Jordan
“He's the greatest basketball player ever. Michael's probably the most competitive person I've ever met.”
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