Charles Barkley’s Zion Williamson Criticism Hits Home as New Evidence Sheds Lights on Worrying Trend

Amid uncertainty surrounding Zion Williamson and the Pelicans, fans and analysts alike have been debating his underwhelming performance during the In-Season Tournament. Charles Barkley had the harshest critique, calling him out of shape without mincing words. That’s a problem Chuck faced throughout his career. He’d admit that it hampered his performance on the court too.

Though The Round Mound of Rebound outrebounded the likes of Shaquille O’Neal in his worst year, his stats painted a waning picture. Now some have noticed that Zion Williamson’s offensive rebound rate and shooting percentage have declined every year. That invokes bad news for the face of New Orleans.

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Barkley started a row over the 23-year-old in his brash style. “He [Zion] is not in shape. He doesn’t run, he plays the game strictly on talent.” He further added, “I’ve been very disappointed. He’s averaging six rebounds a game. He’s only had two double-doubles all season. A big guy that talented should never get less than 10 rebounds. He should be averaging 11-12 rebounds a game.”

Zion Williamson showed that Chuck-like talent since his days at Duke. From a 12.7% rebounding rate in his final season at Duke, Williamson’s talent has statistically halved so far in the 2023-24 NBA season.

In 1996, in his first game against the Phoenix Suns after being traded to the Houston Rockets, 33-year-old Charles Barkley scored the most rebounds of his career – an impressive 33. He recently claimed that he was at his worst when he played for the Rockets but he’s the proudest of his offensive rebounding history.

Charles Barkley’s and Zion Williamson’s parallel problems

Since arriving in the NBA, diet and conditioning have been Williamson’s issues to grapple with. Chuck is acutely aware of that struggle.

At Auburn, Barkley’s weight swung erratically though it hardly hampered him from dominating the SEC. It was a different case in the NBA. He had dropped to around 295lbs to be picked by Philadelphia. It was 76ers legend Moses Malone who was just as harsh when he told him, “You’re fat and you’re lazy.” 

Barkley rightfully cried, then took Malone’s help to get back in shape. Instead of balking at Barkley and other NBA pros-turned-analysts, Williamson needs to take heed.

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He showed determination to improve his physicality at the start of the season only to seemingly revert to his old ways. You can see why Chuck is the most mad about it.