Turner NBA analyst Charles Barkley caused a stir going into the league’s All-Star break when he repeated his assertion that he would retire from broadcasting once his contract expires in after the 2024 season.
Barkley has talked about retirement before, how he prefers not to work into his 60s and wants to enjoy his later years. But maybe most observers are taking those declarations more seriously now because the Hall of Famer is getting closer to the end of his contract.
Someone who was skeptical of Barkley’s retirement talk was ESPN’s Michael Wilbon. Wilbon knows Barkley well, having worked with him on two books and both living in Scottsdale, Arizona.
On Monday’s The Tony Kornheiser Show, Kornheiser asked Wilbon if he believed Barkley was serious about retirement.
“I believe he believes it now,” Wilbon said. “He’s said, ‘I’m not gonna spend my whole life doing this. I got a little life left in me; I’m not gonna do it.'”
Wilbon went on to explain that Barkley came over to his house for dinner recently. And he told Barkley to stop talking publicly about retirement if he wasn’t being serious. But Barkley insisted that he is serious and based on his demeanor, Wilbon believed he meant it.
Both Wilbon and Kornheiser expressed disbelief that Barkley would walk away from television when he’s still considered one of the best in his profession, makes more money than he did playing in the NBA, and is still enormously popular among fans and critics.
Yet Barkley sure seems to be eyeing the end of his broadcasting career. And if he’s come to terms with that, it’s arguably better to step aside than hang on too long while people point out that he’s not as good as he once was. Just because someone sees Barkley as living the kind of life most of us would dream of doesn’t mean that he’s not ready for a change, as much as all of us would like him to continue entertaining us.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
