“Imma put Zion on that diet I was on… If it tastes good, spit it out!” This was one of the comments that Charles Barkley had made about Zion Williamson’s weight in 2022. Since then, the New Orleans Pelicans star, Zion Williamson, has gone through a serious weight loss stint. And, it’s safe to say that the 24-year-old is currently in the best shape of his life. However, on the other end, Barkley doesn’t seem to have kept himself updated, as Chuck dropped yet another brutal dig at the star forward.

The 2019 #1 pick has gone through a rough journey in his 5-season NBA stint. With a 70-game appearance, a career-high feat, in the previous season, Williamson has missed more than half a season three times in his career due to injuries. S0, it’s clear that injuries have been a grave barrier. Even though the star began his weight loss journey in the 2023 off-season, it turned into a successful one this off-season.

Zion Williamson reportedly has lost more than 25 lbs in the last few months and the star, currently weighing 281 lbs is looking to reach 272 lbs before the start of the next season. Nevertheless, Williamson seemed to have accomplished his goal already. as the latest picture of shredded Zion went viral on social media.

Meanwhile, Charles Barkley, unaware of the massive transformation, criticized Williamson’s weight in the chat with Jim Jackson on his brand new podcast. Barkley said, “I’ve been telling that story about Zion. I’m like, ‘who?’ because he already runs the team. You have a coach or a general manager or even a veteran like, ‘Yo, man! you going to keep getting hurt until you get in shape.’ And I’m hoping he get in shape.” Sadly, it seems as if Barkley is still using Internet Explorer.

Did Charles Barkley really not know about Zion Williamson’s transformation?

To make it clear, Charles Barkley wasn’t completely unaware of the weight loss situation. In fact, he even praised Zion Williamson once for the effort. As mentioned earlier, the Pelicans forward began his weight journey in the 2023 off-season and it carried forward into the 2023-24 season as well.

Featuring in Shannon Sharpe’s podcast in May 2024, around the time when Williamson missed the post-season with an injury, Chuck addressed the weight loss journey. The Sixers legend said, “I mean, he’s more explicit. He’s more athletic than you. He’s more athletic, but the sooner he gets in shape, the better he’s gonna be.” However, he still resorted to criticize the star for wrongly timing his weight loss journey.

Barkley added, “You can’t get in shape during the season, you get in shape during the summer… You gotta do that during the summer because you got to be ready to go when the season starts.” The irony is, Zion did exactly what Chuck expected him to do, but the legend doesn’t seem to be keeping his receipts. What do you make of Charles Barkley’s ignorant remark? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.