‘Book it’: Charles Barkley’s Nets-Warriors pregame call for James Wiseman didn’t turn out too badly

Dec. 22, 2020Updated: Dec. 22, 2020 7:07 p.m.

Charles Barkley commentates from the booth during The Match: Champions For Charity at Medalist Golf Club on May 24, 2020 in Hobe Sound, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images for The Match)

Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images for The Match

Before the start of the 2020-21 NBA season, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr cautioned against assigning too high of expectations to No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman. He told reporters to expect something closer to David Robinson as a sophomore at Navy, rather than Robinson, the Hall of Famer on the San Antonio Spurs.

Charles Barkley clearly did not heed Kerr’s advice. During TNT’s pregame show, Barkley boldly proclaimed that Wiseman would begin his pro career with 17 points and 12 rebounds against the Brooklyn Nets. That’s not quite an in-his-prime statline for “The Admiral,” but it’s close.

It wouldn’t be fair to say the 19-year-old rookie proved Barkley right and Kerr wrong. He, like the rest of his teammates, struggled versus the Nets, and the Warriors ultimately lost 125-99.

But thanks to a hefty bit of garbage time where Wiseman emerged as the team’s best scoring threat, he did manage to help Barkley avoid looking completely ridiculous. The big man ended up with 19 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes, which is pretty good!

For that reason, we’ll give Barkley a break on his prediction being six rebounds short, even though he told his fellow TNT announcers to ‘book it.’ After the game, Barkley begged TNT host Ernie Johnson to not show the highlights, so it sounds like he isn’t basking in his semi-accurate call.

Alex Shultz is the sports editor for SFGATE. You can reach him at alex.shultz@sfgate.com.