Charles Barkley back to hating on the Minnesota Timberwolves during his stint on the Bill Simmons podcast. Why does Barkley hate the Wolves so much, and why do fans even care what he thinks?
In what might be the least surprising headline of the year, Charles Barkley has once again voiced his take on the Minnesota Timberwolves, and, spoiler alert: it’s not a love letter. The “Round Mound of Rebound” made his way onto Bill Simmons’ podcast recently, where they covered a buffet of topics—everything from the upcoming NFL season to Caitlin Clark, and the dumpster fire of Turner Sports. But, when the conversation turned to the NBA, specifically the Western Conference, Barkley did what Barkley does best: stir the pot.
Let’s face it, when it comes to the Wolves, Chuck seems to have a special knack for being dismissive, and this time was no different. After spending some time praising the Celtics’ chances at another title, Barkley shifted to the West—where, despite the conference being loaded, he decided to throw shade at almost every team.
Barkley had a surprising take on the reigning Western Conference champions, the Dallas Mavericks. According to him, the Mavs are going to take a step back this year, which is bold considering they’ve got Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, a blossoming youngster in Dereck Lively II, and now Klay Thompson. But sure, Chuck, let’s pretend the Mavs aren’t going to build on last season and out perform their fifth seed status after a Finals run. Makes total sense, right?
Barkley also turned his sights on the Denver Nuggets, who have been hemorrhaging talent since they won it all in 2023. Chuck did like the team adding Russell Westbrook (because, you know, that’s worked out so well for other teams), but overall felt that their depth is a real concern.
Barkley basically declared the Clippers dead on arrival, which, given Paul George’s absence, is probably fair. He went after the Phoenix Suns, calling them a team without an identity and essentially saying they’ll continue to tread water unless Devin Booker steps up as a leader. He didn’t hold back on the Lakers or the Warriors either, dismissing both teams as “not any good.”
Oh, and naturally, Barkley threw in some obligatory jabs at Zion Williamson’s weight. Look, we all know Zion’s struggled with fitness, but coming from Barkley, it’s a little ironic.
But now, let’s dig into what Barkley had to say about the Timberwolves—because this is where it gets laughable. Chuck went on record saying the Wolves would “regress” this season. Yep, the same team that reached the Western Conference Finals and has an ascending mega star on its roster. And Barkley’s logic? It’s as flimsy as you’d expect.
First off, the Wolves return most of their roster intact. Sure, Kyle Anderson is gone, but Anthony Edwards is coming into his prime along with Jayden McDaniels, Mike Conley Jr. continues to lead the team, and, oh yeah, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns are still holding down the fort. In fact, last year was the season where Gobert and KAT finally started to figure out how to coexist. Throw Naz Reid into the equation and the Wolves’ front court looks as strong as ever.
Let’s back up and talk about Ant for a second. Edwards isn’t just some promising youngster anymore. He’s entering his fifth year, and last season, he took a massive leap, cementing himself as one of the faces of the NBA. There’s a reason people were throwing out comparisons to Michael Jordan. After spending a summer hanging out with LeBron, KD, and Steph while adding an Olympic gold medal to his collection, Ant is poised to take yet another step forward. It would be no shock if his name starts popping up in MVP conversations early in the season.
And yet, despite all of this, Barkley still claims the Wolves were “lucky” last season. Lucky? Let’s unpack that. The Wolves had a consistent hold on the #1 seed in the West throughout most of the season. They swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round and then took down the Denver Nuggets in a hard-fought series. If anything, Minnesota was unlucky, missing out on the top seed due to KAT’s injury late in the regular season.
And Barkley’s explanation for the Nuggets’ loss to the Wolves? Apparently, Jokic was “exhausted” from dealing with the Wolves’ trio of big men all by himself. Now, forgive me, but isn’t that the entire point of building a team with three elite bigs? Wolves GM Tim Connelly put this team together specifically to counter Jokic. That’s not luck—that’s strategy, Chuck.
Look, we get it. Barkley’s never been high on the Wolves. He’s spent years clowning on Minnesota, and to be fair, the franchise hasn’t always given him much reason to believe. But the last few years have been different. The Wolves have become a team worth taking seriously, whether Chuck wants to admit it or not.
The disrespect was especially on full display during last year’s Western Conference Finals when Barkley and the rest of the TNT crew were borderline unwatchable in their critiques of KAT and Gobert. It got so bad that the Wolves refused to send a player to appear on Inside the NBA after their Game 4 win in Dallas. That’s how fed up the players were with the constant, unfounded criticism.
So here we are, with Barkley once again dismissing Minnesota. But guess what? The Wolves will be featured on TNT many times this season, and something tells me Anthony Edwards and company are going to give Chuck plenty of reasons to rethink his stance. The Timberwolves are on the rise, and if they keep building on last season’s success, Barkley will have no choice but to eat his words.
In the end, it doesn’t really matter what Barkley thinks. The Wolves will do their talking on the court. But you better believe that every time Chuck opens his mouth, it’s just more fuel for the fire. So keep the bulletin board material coming, Chuck—we’re here for it. I have a feeling you’ll be “bringing ya ass” to Minnesota again next May.