“This Isn’t NBA”: Charles Barkley Becomes a Laughing Stock for NHL Fans Over Conor McDavid Claims

Charles Barkley, who announced his retirement from television after the 2025 NBA season just last week, was back on live TV for game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Chuckster’s take on Inside the NBA is often appreciated, but that might not be the case in the NHL. The Philadelphia 76ers icon joined The Point crew, to discuss the legacy of Connor McDavid. Barkley shared some controversial takes about the Edmonton Oilers center, eliminating him from the conversation about greatness. Looks like the ice hockey fans did not tolerate it. The social media went against Barkley, taking shots at him by questioning his basketball legacy.

The Oilers made a historic comeback after trailing 0-3 against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals. McDavid, who is arguably one of the best players in the world, has been crucial in this comeback. However, Barkley is not ready to give his flowers to the 27-year-old, until he wins a championship. 

Barkley said on live television, “I don’t like the way they do things today. Like in the NFL, they are already comparing Pat Mahomes to Tom Brady. Tom got seven Super Bowls. Let’s hold off a little bit…Connor David has not even won one Stanley Cup. So let him get a cup before we start comparing him to Michael Jordan.”

However, the 1993 NBA MVP agrees that David is the best player in the world. Also, Barkley relates to David, when it comes to not winning a championship. Anyhow, Barkley’s done with his career as a player. So he wants McDavid to win at least 2-3 Stanley Cups, before he gets compared with Jordan or Brady. What do the fans think about this take from Chuck?

Social media finds Charles Barkley’s take ironic, mocks him over his stinging failure

“Coming from Barkley is wild,” said a user on social media, which was followed by another comment, “Lil ironic here”, mocking the Sixers legend. We are all aware that Barkley has never won a championship in his 16-year career. Although he has been one of Jordan’s fierce competitors, that is not a tag that the fans are interested in. It’s all about the rings! 

Fans did not love that Barkley was called to cover ice hockey. Although he has made several appearances on it before, this time it received a different reaction from the fans. “They got Charles talking hockey”, pin-pointed a fan sarcastically. 

Another fan took a jab at Barkley, “This isn’t the NBA Chuck. You don’t have to be Draymond on a super team to be called great.” Clearly, shots were fired. Sadly, Draymond Green had to take a jab as well. Does nobody want Barkley to speak about ice hockey? 

Not really. A fan highlighted Barkley’s love for the NHL, “For those who don’t know, Chuck is a HUGE hockey fan, and has been for a min. He’s consistently mentioned this during the Stream Room podcast and Inside the NBA. It’s the reason why he always does the NHL promos for TNT during Inside,” making a case to approve his take on McDavid. 

Another user supported Barkley’s point about not winning a championship, “Barkley, Stockton, Malone would all be viewed differently if they had a ring. He is not wrong because he knows it’s true about himself.” So there were a few people who agreed with the Round Mound of Rebound. 

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