Basketball analyst Charles Barkley has clarified his recent criticism of the San Antonio Spurs, stating that his comments were aimed at the players, not head coach Mitch Johnson.
The clarification came after the Spurs blew a 29-point lead in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, falling behind 3-1 in the series.
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In a clip shared on X by Oh No He Didn't, Barkley revealed that several NBA coaches reached out to him about his post-game evaluation.
"I got a couple of NBA coaches call me and I want to be crystal clear: when I said it was really dumb basketball the other night, I was talking about the players.
I wasn't talking about coach Johnson," Barkley said.
The analyst emphasized that his frustration was with the roster's execution, not the strategy of Johnson, a young head coach under intense scrutiny during one of the largest comebacks in Finals history.
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"I don't want to be criticizing young black coaches because we need more young black coaches in the NBA.
… If Coach Johnson took my comments personally I want to apologize to him," Barkley added.
San Antonio's tactical errors included settling for quick jump shots and poor clock management.
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The game ended when De'Aaron Fox's late layup was blocked by OG Anunoby, who then scored a tip-in with 1.2 seconds left to secure a 107-106 Knicks victory.
