The NBA season is hardly even new and Charles Barkley is already making headlines with his outlandish opinions.

Minutes into the pregame show leading up to Tuesday’s opener between the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks, Barkley declared that Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson is the second best player in the world behind Cavaliers superstar LeBron James. Barkley specifically pointed out his decision to put Thompson ahead of Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs and Thompson’s Golden State teammate Kevin Durant, to say nothing of two-time reigning NBA MVP Steph Curry.

Barkley’s bold assertion set off the TNT crew, which happens just about every time Barkley is on the set. As the discussion continued, things got weirder.

The former NBA player said that he’d put Thompson ahead of Leonard because of his offensive ability. Durant’s name didn’t even come up until someone asked. Some assumed Barkley might have just forgotten Durant. However, he quickly denied that assumption and said he’s behind the likes of James, Thompson and Leonard.

It will be interesting to see how Warrior fans react to Barkley’s over-hyping of Thompson and under-valuing of Durant. As we have seen in the past, some Golden State fans don’t appreciate Barkley saying anything negative about their team.

It seems like the NBA season is already off to a fast start. Hopefully this high-paced action transfers over to the court.

[For The Win]

About Ryan Williamson

Ryan is a recent graduate of the University of Missouri and has recently returned to his Minnesota roots. He previously has worked for the Columbia Missourian, KFAN radio in Minneapolis and BringMeTheNews.com. Feel free to email me at rwilliamson29 AT Gmail dot com.