Charles Barkley goes on fiery rant about lack of defense in NBA and NFL

Between his long playing career and time as an analyst on TV, Charles Barkley has seen the game of basketball evolve. The Hall of Fame big man recently went on a big rant about one of his biggest dislikes of the modern era.

Back in November, Barkley debuted as the co-host of "King Charles" on CNN. Alongside Gayle King, he shares his opinions on all things in and around the world of politics. However, sports ended up being a major topic in a recent episode.

While speaking with King and guest Bob Costas, Charles Barkley shared his thoughts on the increased scoring in the NBA. He proceeded to have a long winded answer on what's wrong with both pro basketball and the NFL.

It’s the three-pointer, first and foremost. But also, these millennials have ruined my game. It’s become a 3-point shooting contest, you can’t play defense," Barkley said.

"It’s kind of similar to what’s happened in the NFL. You are just gonna throw the ball 34-50 times a gme, you cannot play on defense on the wide receivers."

---

Charles Barkley is wrong about scoring boom in the NBA

Looking at the numbers, Charles Barkley doesn't have much of a case in regards to average scoring in the NBA. Today's numbers aren't far off from when he was dominating the league in the late 80s and 90s.

This season, the Indiana Pacers lead the NBA in scoring at 123.1 PPG. However, the average scoring number across all 30 teams is 114.6. In comparison, the average PPG in Barkley's rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers was 110.8. Seeing how much more prominent the 3-point shot is now, this small increase isn't much.

From the late 70s through the 80s, NBA teams were scoring at an incredibly high rate. The average PPG sat around 110, similar to the league average just two years ago.

The reason why today's game feels so high scoring is because there have been stints in history where scoring has dipped. Towards the end of the 90s, PPG dropped to as low as 91.6. There was a constant increase in decrease until 2015, when scoring began to consistently increase.

Aside from 2022, scoring in the NBA has gradually gone up over time. Barkley might feel the three-point shot is to blame for this, but it's not the only factor at play.

Pace is another thing that needs to be brought up when talking about scoring. Teams are playing faster than ever before, which is leading to more possessions. More shot attempts, along with the focus on outside shooting, has led to this scoring boom.

Charles Barkley might have a gripe with the outliers, but in terms of average, scoring has not had a drastic change in the NBA.