Charles Barkley On Criticism From Kendrick Perkins: ‘Don’t Bring Up A Guy Who Averaged 5 Points A Game’

Charles Barkley made quite the statement during the United States men’s basketball team’s stint at the Paris Olympics, as he insisted that the players are not allowed back into the country if they could not win a gold medal. It’s unclear just how serious he was, but fortunately, we don’t have to find out, as the Americans took home their fifth gold in a row .

Barkley’s comments about how the team should roll to a gold rubbed Kendrick Perkins the wrong way, and during an appearance on the Dan Le Batard Show, Barkley got asked about Perkins saying he was off-base. He decided, in powerfully Charles Barkley fashion, to not even address it, and instead expressed his dislike for Perkins.

“First of all, don’t bring up a guy who averaged five points a game,” Barkley said. “I’m not gonna stoop to his level. You average five points a game, you shut the hell up.”

While Barkley then got into some stuff about Serbia’s national team and why he did not think they were on the same level as the U.S. — along with some criticisms of Steve Kerr’s coaching — it’s worth mentioning that this is not the first time Barkley has used this exact line on Perkins. Earlier this year, Perkins criticized Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal for what he called an inability to consistently watch basketball , which led to Barkley calling him this name .