Steph Curry is arguably the best golfer in the NBA. The former MVP and top three-point shooter is often found on the golf course in celebrity matches and more. He’s also frequently crowned at whatever he’s doing on the golf course. It’s made Charles Barkley perhaps a little bit envious.
Basketball players that love playing golf are not a new breed. Back in the 1990s, Barkley and several others were avid golfers, and Barkley still plays to this day. He’s not as good as he once was, according to Curry.
The Golden State Warriors superstar revealed as much via Yahoo! Sports:
“Us basketball players that love golf, we’re psychos. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if golf was the answer to that question. At one point, [Barkley] was actually pretty good, from all the accounts I’ve heard about when he was playing with Michael [Jordan] back in the nineties. I think he was shooting in the seventies at one point. And he just had a breakdown and some kind of mental lapse or forgot how to swing or forgot how to play. You see what it looks like now.”
The NBA superstar took a dig at Barkley’s current form, which doesn’t suggest that he ever played all that well. According to Curry, Barkley used to shoot pretty well, so after some time, those skills must have faded.
Rivalry between Charles Barkley and Steph Curry continues
Charles Barkley and Steph Curry have a slight rivalry. Charles Barkley has always derided Steph Curry and his teams, saying that jump-shooting teams shouldn’t and can’t win it all. Four trophies later, Curry is happy to flex his success on the court and on the green:
“He can keep hating on [the Warriors], saying we’re cooked, ‘Jump-shooting teams don’t win championships,.’ But I’ll just send him a picture of me with the American Century trophy and a ring on, and it’ll be cool.”
The Warriors point guard won the 2023 American Century Championship, proving that his success isn’t necessarily limited to the court.
Curry has generally had more success than the TNT analyst on both floors. He’s won two MVPs and four championships and is widely heralded as the best to ever play his position. On the golf course, he wins more often than Barkley does, but there is one moment between the two that Curry won’t forget.
He continued:
“I have Tahoe over his head, forever. Not even in the same category. But, [Barkley] and Phil Mickelson hustled me and Peyton Manning back in the first “Match” that I played in. So, I can’t ever live that down. It still stings that I lost in anything golf to Chuck.”
It’s unlikely that the banter between these two will ever end. They may be basketball players and personalities first and foremost, but it’s clear that they share a love for golf. Curry has gone so far as to take initiative in growing the sport of golf, so he has a clear devotion to it. That devotion means he can’t be outdone by Barkley, too.