When Charles Barkley is on the air, no one is safe, especially not the fans attending an NBA matchup between two teams struggling at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
During the Saturday night broadcast of Inside the NBA, Sir Charles took a playful swipe at the crowd attending the game between the Washington Wizards and the Charlotte Hornets.
While the league dealt with a major scheduling shift following the postponement of the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves game, Barkley found humor in the “dedication” of the fans in D.C.
“If you went to this game, you had nothing to do today,” Barkley joked, drawing laughter from Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith.
"If you went to this game, you had nothing to do today."
— Charles Barkley on the Wizards & Hornets game. 🤣💀
(h/t @awfulannouncing)
pic.twitter.com/9rTVdEvVOY
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 25, 2026
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To be fair to the fans at Capital One Arena, the game turned out to be more competitive than the “Chuckster” anticipated. The Hornets managed to pull out a gritty 119-115 victory over the Wizards.
Tre Johnson led the charge for Washington, finding his rhythm to finish with 26 points and six assists. He received plenty of help from Alex Sarr, who chipped in with 24 points and four rebounds.
On the other side, LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges led the way for the Hornets. The star guard racked up 20 points and 11 assists, with Bridges scoring the same number of points with three rebounds and four assists. Brandon Miller added 21 points of his own, with a huge 11 rebounds.
While Barkley might think those fans had nothing better to do, they at least walked away seeing a close game and a Hornets win. Whether Chuck likes it or not, even the “basement” matchups provide some Saturday night drama.