Charles Barkley has called the San Antonio Spurs “the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilisation” after they squandered the biggest lead in NBA Finals history to leave the New York Knicks on the brink of a first title for more than 50 years.
The Spurs looked set to level the best-of-seven series at 2-2 when they led by 29 points at Madison Square Garden, only to see the Knicks steadily whittle that advantage down and snatch a dramatic 107-106 victory when London-born OG Anunoby scored a tip-in basket with 1.2 seconds left on the clock.
It sent the MSG crowd – which included the likes of Taylor Swift and Timothee Chalamet – wild and moved the Knicks to within one victory of a first NBA championship since 1973.
The previous biggest comeback in the NBA Finals was 24 points, by the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008, but the Spurs were up by 29 in the second quarter and still led by 27 at half-time – the largest such advantage for a road team in Finals history – yet only scored 30 points in the final two quarters.
That prompted former NBA MVP Barkley, who was courtside as an analyst for ESPN, to lay into San Antonio.
“We saw the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilisation,” fumed Barkley on the Inside the NBA postgame show.
“That was some of the most mismanaged, stupid basketball… Hey, when you blow a 29-point lead, the other team has to help you, and the San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game. That was some of the most stupid-ass stuff I’ve ever seen on a basketball court.”
Another NBA icon, Shaquille O’Neal, agreed completely with his fellow analyst’s assessment.
“Congratulations to the Knicks for coming back but Chuck, I agree with you,” said O’Neal. “They played terrible basketball, they got comfortable.
“They got comfortable with the lead, they were already talking about going back to San Antonio and they just didn’t play smart. You never know what a champion is until you become a champion and, tonight, the Knicks fought like a champion.”
Game 5 is Saturday night in San Antonio, where the Spurs will need to find a way to rebound with no margin for error – now requiring three victories on the spin to deny the Knicks the title.
And San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama, the NBA’s defensive player of the year, was at a loss as to how his team squandered such an advantage.
“I can’t really explain it right now,” admitted Wembanyama, who scored a team-high 24 points and claimed 13 rebounds.
“I don’t know. I think it’s just execution, greediness of some sort. We clearly weren’t the most hungry in the second half.”
