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Charles Barkley had ruthless line for Spike Lee before Game 5

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated May 29, 2025 9:16 PM ET

Charles Barkley is clearly not a believer in Spike Lee’s beloved New York Knicks.

The famous film director and Knicks superfan Lee appeared Thursday with TNT’s “Inside the NBA” crew ahead of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and the Indiana Pacers. Roughly an hour before tipoff at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., Lee spoke on his fandom and said that he would give up one of his Academy Awards for the Knicks to win a championship.

That led to a cruel line from the TNT analyst Barkley. “Well you’re gonna keep ’em,” Barkley said in response.

Spike: "I would give up an Academy Award. Oscar, for the Knicks to win a Championship."

Chuck: "Well you're gonna keep 'em!" pic.twitter.com/4uhBgym7od
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 29, 2025

Indeed, the 68-year-old Lee earned an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay from the 2019 film “Black BlacKkKlansman.” Lee also appeared to be referring to the Honorary Academy Award he received in 2016. But Barkley is confident that Lee ultimately will not have to give up either award.

The Knicks are currently in the conference finals for the first time since 2000. But they have not been to the Finals since 1999, and they have not won a championship since way back in 1973 (when Lee was just 16 years old).

It is still possible for the Knicks to win the title this year, but the climb will be extremely steep since the Pacers currently lead the ECF by a 3-1 margin. Meanwhile, this is far from the first time that the Knicks have fallen victim to some ruthless comments made by Barkley.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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