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Charles Barkley Defends Chris Paul From Critics: “If You Can’t Appreciate That, You Really Don’t Know Anything”

The 2022 NBA playoffs were a disappointing campaign for the Phoenix Suns. Lauded as the best team in the Western Conference with 64 wins, the team failed to close out the series against the Dallas Mavericks, putting up a lackluster performance in Game 7 where they fell behind by more than 30 points.

Unsurprisingly, their disappointing playoff campaign has led to far-ranging criticism, largely towards veteran point guard Chris Paul, who averaged 13.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game on 55.4% shooting in 7 games vs the Mavericks.

Fans and basketball pundits alike have been relentless with their criticism. In fact, even Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley didn’t pass up the opportunity to throw shade on CP3 after their elimination from the NBA playoffs.

As the 37-year old Suns point guard continues to face much scrutiny, NBA Hall of Famer and TNT host Charles Barkley came to defense of CP3 and suggested that the critics are holding the aging superstar to an unfair standard. 

“As a guy gets older, it’s unfair for us to ask him to still be the same guy he was five, 10 years ago,” Barkley said during a recent podcast appearance. “Listen, playing point guard at Chris’ size, he’s the best leader I’ve seen in the NBA. Think about this, he’s won every single place he’s been, and if you can’t appreciate that, you really don’t know anything about basketball as a fan.”