News / People
Charles Barkley Calls the Miami Heat a "Whiny Bunch"
TV Analyst and Former NBA Player Chimes In
According to Barkley, many sports fans dislike the Miami Heat because the Big 3 (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh) were celebrating and talking about winning as many as seven titles even before the season started.
Barkley also adds that James, in particular, is disliked by many because of his notorious ESPN special called "The Decision," during which he announced that he would be taking his talents to South Beach.
"[They say] we don't like the Miami Heat. First of all, that's not true at all," explained Barkley. "Those guys are actually a whiny bunch. They said a couple times this year, 'Well the world is happy the Miami Heat [is losing].' Please don't flatter yourself. C'mon man.
"We criticize [James] because of 'The Decision.' But nobody dislikes LeBron James. LeBron James is a good dude. But I love, 'The Miami Heat is losing, the world is happy.' First of all, nobody is thinking about the Miami Heat. You guys are good guys. You're the guys who came out and said, 'We're not going to win 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 championships.' We're like, 'Really.' They never take any personal responsibility to why people take shots at them."
Barkley actually thinks highly of James, Wade, and Bosh as players and as people. He just seems to take issue with the way they deal with the criticism that comes their way.
"I like LeBron," said Barkley. "I think LeBron is the best basketball player in the world right now.
"But him and his guys think because some of us didn't like that 'Decision' thing -- that was silly -- they got mad about that. Like wait a minute, I always said it's nothing personal, that thing was silly. We say he's the best player in the world, but you guys are mad because we criticized 'The Decision.'"
Barkley says that LeBron and the rest of the Big 3 could have easily prevented all the criticism that they have ignited.
"If LeBron had just said, 'Hey, you know what, I want to win more, I'm going to Miami.' Nobody would have disliked that," said Barkley. "I don't know what that thing was when they came out on stage and said they were going to win seven championships.
"Those are the two things that annoyed people, but nobody dislikes Dwyane and LeBron and Chris Bosh. All three are good guys and terrific players."
(Sources: ESPNChicago.com)
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