Charles on why retired pros don’t play pickup with the general public at the local gyms.
Like when Ken Jennings was asked by an audience if he ever goes to local bar trivia nights and in Ken Jennings words “stunt on those hoes” and he said no because if I win everyone criticizes me for winning and if I lose I’m disappointing everyone. It’s a lose lose situation
as if there’s any chance he would lose lol
Not unless Brad Rutter also happened to be in the same bar
And even then, it’s a tossup lol
Is that another jeopardy winner?
Yeah, and he was the actual Jeopardy GOAT until 2020 when Ken finally beat him. Rutter was first on in 2000, 3 years before Ken. Back in those days, once you hit 5 straight wins, you were done playing and couldn’t continue defending. So Brad won his 5, came back for the 2001 tournament of champions and won that, then won the million dollar masters tournament in 2002.
2003 Ken comes along and does his crazy streak. Then in 2005 there’s an Ultimate Tournament of champions, and Brad beats Ken in the final of that. Then in 2014, there’s a battle of the decades tournament, Brad gets to the final and beats Ken yet again. Then in 2019 there’s Jeopardy All Star Games it’s a team competition, and Brad and his team beat Ken and his team in the final.
And then finally in 2020, the GOAT tournament happens and Ken finally gets his win and beats Brad (and James) for the very first time in the final.
Damn dude, you’re like the Bill Simmons of Jeopardy.
My Dad was heavy into Jeopardy, we’d watch it together almost every night from the time I was 5 or 6. Was born in 1991 so this would be like 96 or 97. Kept tally marks for right answers (questions lol), we didn’t do the whole betting thing. Every correct response was a tally mark, final jeopardy was worth 2. Played almost daily for years, I never beat him. He always told me, “the day you beat me is the day you graduate”. Sure enough, June 2005, age 14 I finally got his ass. It the first game we’d played since I graduated middle school, and was a few months after Kens streak had ended.
Side note, I would get Final Jeopardy right like once every 8-10 games, it was pretty rare. Imagine my utter shock when I actually got the correct response for Final Jeopardy on the day Ken finally got taken out because he got it wrong. Correct answer was H&R Block, which I only guessed because I saw commercials for it every damn day back then. I felt like an actual god for a good couple of days off that one lmao my Dad to this day remains convinced Ken was just exhausted and voluntarily bowed out lol
Edit: was off by a year lol
I was born in ‘87, so similar to you. My dad was super into Jeopardy and Seinfeld, so it was always on in the house.
Imagine my utter shock when I actually got the correct response for Final Jeopardy on the day Ken finally got taken out because he got it wrong. Correct answer was H&R Block
Yeah same here. I get the final right at about the same clip as you and i felt that one was obvious. Conspiracy theory is Ken was tired and wanted it to finally be done with and threw the game. I chose to believe it because he just does not miss on layups (ha!) like that
I know Jennings is THE guy but I’ve always felt like James is smarter. Idk why I think it’s his enigmatic stoic demeanor but I feel as if James truly knows everything on earth lol. The man is a Martian.
If everyone is at their peak it’s
Brad > Ken > James
Up until that tournament in 2020, Brad had never lost to any human being ever. (He and Ken both lost to IBM Watson at some point in this run.)
The Ken Jennings of Ken Jenningses
Well, when they faced off against Watson, Ken did end up ahead of Brad that game. But since they both lost to Watson and the vibe was more an exhibition match, it wasn’t quite the same.
But yeah, feels to me Brad is the actual Jeopardy GOAT and Ken could only beat him when Brad finally aged enough to lose a step with memory recall speed. But Ken is way more charismatic and his first run was a viral cultural moment, so he is significantly more famous.
Ken could only beat him when Brad finally aged enough to lose a step with memory recall speed.
Ken is older
Ken is older than Brad.
I don’t know what happened to Brad in the GOAT tournament.
He was clearly the GOAT before then and then just was terrible that tourney.
Father Time comes for us all
Brad played like total shit in the GOAT tourney. Was very disappointing
The 3 Jeopardy greats are Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer
They even did a special Jeopardy series some years back where they all competed against each other for a million dollars and the official GOAT title. I think Ken won
Hey Brad’s score is still on there
Legendary moment
Here’s the link for those who want to see or haven’t seen that legendary moment: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FPba1r8oM5s
Absolutely brutal.
And Holzhauer really changed how Jeopardy is played now in my opinion.
I could be off on this, but my memory is that Daily Double hunting with massive wagers wasn’t really how the game was played prior to his run.
Correct, he brought in more game theory to it
Legendary gambler James Holzhaher
Ken destroyed that competition lol. Brad didn’t put up much of a fight
James had the Best personality of all of them
Yeah, he beat Ken a couple times in jeopardy tournaments I believe
yeah but he had a strategy with wagering, straight up trivia without a betting element I think ken gets it nearly all the time. dude was no slouch though, obviously
As if there’s any chance he would go to a bar in the first place as a Mormon.
I feel like there’s a good chance. Sure there’s always tons of general trivia and things he’d know. But they almost always have a ton of pop culture trivia, movies, sports, music. Jeopardy dudes tend to do poorly at those types of categories.
i don’t think you know just how good ken jennings is. he is not even close to the average jeopardy contestant
He’s weak in sports trivia.
I think he might do better than the normal people at a trivia night even about sports. Unless it’s something hyper specific, like Buffalo Sabres history in a bar in Buffalo.
One of a few characteristics that tends to separate the elite Jeopardy players like Ken and James Holzhauer from the just very good players is that they tend to be quite strong in those categories as well.
There isn’t exactly a huge overlap between bar trivia and Jeopardy— bar trivia tends to skew way more pop culture heavy. I ain’t Ken Jennings but I won a bunch of games on Jeopardy and probably only win about half the time I do bar trivia
Whoa, I encountered Isaac in the wild! We enjoyed rooting for you. :)
Lots of bar trivia contests are literally designed to randomize the standings at the end. “Put these 4 nations in order by population, and wager 0-20 points.” Inevitably 2 or 3 nations will be within 100,000 of each other.
The chances of guessing right are 1⁄24, but the chances of knowing the answer with certainty are maybe 1⁄2 or 1⁄3. It’s literally designed so that the same team doesn’t always win the $40 gift card or whatever.
Doesn’t always work, but it does sometimes…
Is Ken Jennings gonna have to stunt on a hoe?
Kick me off Jeopardy and shit goes crazy
Different dynamic, but I’m reminded of a WNBA player whose name I can’t remember talking about turning down random men who wanted to play her one on one. It was something along the lines of knowing that she would get some probably get some quick points, then the dude would get too physical to compensate and that they didn’t need that grief/injury risk.
I remember that comment. The WNBA player pointed out a really unpleasant sexist dynamic, where the guys would get upset that they were losing to a woman and start playing really rough, and the WNBA player is like “I don’t want my career affected because some rando at the gym tries to hurt me”
Jennings is a funny dude.
Yeah my friend used to go the gym that andre miller went to after retirement. He was like “dude hes not that good for a pro” by just watching him hoop at probably 30% effort against local plumbers and electricians.
Charles Barkley be ducking me. Y’all heard it here first
understandable tbh
like winning the special olympics
Just like Johnny Knoxville did
Ok poop hands just wash em before hoops and redditing thanks
What in the world is this comment? Lmao
I’ve been needing a plumber, what’s your service area /s
bro saw your LA fitness highlights and made a business decision
I understand where he’s coming from, being competitive and wanting to fight only the best. He retired from that
I also understand former players who still do runs at a local gym, it’s for the love of the game
Both sides are valid
One of Max Kellermans takes I think is actually good is he said most all time greats either love the sport or they need to win. All the guys whose passion was winning probably don’t feel the need to pick up a ball ever again after they retire.
You can see this in KD, he quit on a pickup game with Ishowspeed because their teammate blew a layup. Some players want to win more than just play to have fun and trash talk.
I feel like KD is the worst example to point to as a legend who just needs to win. He’s like the poster boy for the pro who just absolutely loves his sport. Dude is all about basketball, getting high and posting on Twitter.
yea kobe would have been a much better example.
KD is the antithesis of a guy who needs to win all the time.
Actually its the worst possible example jaychance could have made. Ill say KD probably loves basketball more than like 99% of the nba population. definitely one of the more talented ones that purely loves the game. Victor is another early example in his career.
If KD lost both of his legs tomorrow, he’d probably take-up wheelchair basketball the next day. I think the only thing that could stop him from hooping would be becoming straight-up bedridden lol
People really forget back in the 2012 lockout where KD was traveling the country to play in every league he could. Dude was fueling ballislife and hoop mixtape that summer.
KD is a basketball junkie and it’s awesome
KD is a weird example because he’s both. Mr. Jumpshots in the club will definitely play like it’s game 7 in an LA Fitness when he’s 60.
The man has been seen literally shadow-hooping in nightclubs.
Say what you want about KD but I don’t think you can question his love for basketball. If anything, I don’t think he has that need to win. Yes he went to GSW to do that, but it’s pretty clear at this point it was to check off “NBA champion” on his career to-do list. A need to win guy doesn’t leave his home team to join the rivals who just beat them in the playoffs
I don’t think KD’s decision to call it quits during a pickup game with iShowSpeed because his teammate sucks means he just cares about winning so much. I don’t think it means anything really
The fact that this has 34 upvotes is hilarious. Every player talks about kd like they’ve never met anyone who loves basketball more.
Yeah, aren’t there stories of him showing up to highschool games just to watch? He just loves the game and beefing with randoms on twitter
KDs the wrong dude to use for your example. He’s a true hoop head. I think he’s just a little easily irritated by poor performances from his teammates.
KD had a few summers where he would go to pro-ams and absolutely torch everyone, there’s videos of him dropping 50+ in the drew, at Rucker park, and the Jamal Crawford classic.
That’s just having a short fuse for inexcusable mistakes…
In that example, I’m not even sure if it’s him being mad about losing as much as it’s him being disgusted at the lack of fundamentals or an inability to do something that even random people at LA Fitness could probably do better. Almost like, if you can’t even do that, what exactly are we doing here? It’s like a kid wanting to do calculus but he still struggles at addition.
That’s a skit bruh
What stuck out to me about what Barkley said, is that he wouldn’t go home and brag about beating the plumber. I’ve been playing pickup ball a loooong time, and never once has it crossed my mind to go home and brag about beating anyone. But that’s his mindset, he needs to win, while I just like playing. I’m competitive and want to win, but I couldn’t tell you who won in last Thursday’s run.
Ya but if you did beat Larry Bird, you sure as shit would be bragging about it. And if that’s your life for over a decade, it’d be hard to go back to just loving the game.
Or maybe not. But maybe Charles didn’t start oit playing for ego
We played Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in 2002. My friend stole the ball from LeBron and also had a couple pretty nice moves against him and scored 18 with him being the primary defender. First thing he did after that game was go to the media person to get a copy of the game tape because he wanted to be able to show his kids he didn’t get completely embarrassed by Lebron(he went on to play D2 ball).
I’d probably just have that tape playing on a loop on a dedicated TV in my living room.
Probably use that to flex on people saying at one point I was on same level as an all time great basketball player.
Oh yeah, I’m not knocking him or saying he should be like me. Just that he thinks different. He needs that mountain to climb to say he beat the best. I just wanna hoop and maybe win a game or two after work.
Acting like plumbers and electricians are at LA fitness on weekday mornings. THEY ARE AT WORK CHUCK.
But if Charles had the mindset that he has to win, why did he go to Auburn?
As an Auburn alumni, everyone gets real quiet once equestrian season rolls around!
There was a motocross racer named James Stewart who at one point was billed the “Fastest Man On The Planet” and at his peak he truly was. But after years of injuries, age finally caught up to him and he went from perennial winner to a field filler and at that point he wasn’t like some others who hang around because they wanted to still be part of the show or to collect a paycheck off of his popularity. As soon as he knew he was no longer capable of winning, he was done and straight up disappeared from the industry for years. I don’t know if he didn’t necessarily not have a passion for his chosen craft but maybe he stepped away quickly because when you’re a winner all of your life at the top of your profession, it’s a harsh reality when you have to accept you’re no longer capable of winning anymore. For some it’s a very foreign concept and everyone comes to terms with it differently.
I did competitive classical music performance for a long time. I absolutrly loved it at first, but eventually the motivation came solely from trying to be the best. Once I “retired,” i barely touched the instrument. People always think its sad that I lost my passion, but i don’t feel that way. I played music my instrument probably 1000x more than the average person and just have nothing left I want to do with it. I guess you could say i completed my passion
My SIL is dating an MLB player and when we were kicking it over the holidays, he asked if I wanted to throw a football for a bit. I jokingly said “you dont wanna grab some mitts and a baseball?” And the dude just goes “fuuuuck no. Thats work. I wanna have fun. I’m not here asking you about software” lmao
A lot of these dudes only want to win. To the point where they don’t even actually like the sport they play, but it’s because they can win and collect a paycheck and not much else.
Then again, there’s a TON of software engineers who clock off and go and code their own stuff. Figure it’s the same for other professionals, basketball included.
One of my coworkers is always coding. Work or personal he is coding. I never even think about code once I turn off my computer for the day.
I’m thinking in a lot of cases, they initially loved the sport, but eventually the passion died after waking up every day treating it like a responsibility. But ya, there are probably a lot of kids who were simply naturally good at it, and that was what made it fun for them, not the sport itself.
Pro sports at the highest level for 15+ years is not good for the body. Some of those guys limp for the rest of their lives
Yeah, I remember stories when MJ would jump in on a Bobcats practice for 45 minutes and then he’d be laying on the couch like he’d just fought Mike Tyson 15 rounds.
Or when the Big 3 started and a lot of retired players were playing and the first game destroyed them.
Yeah, Dirk was very open about that post retirement, he even said he regrets that he played these last few years.
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Exactly. I played high school ball with or against dudes who went on to play pro basketball, D1, or are/were pro in other sports(nfl and mlb). I didn’t play college because I was burnt out and always injured after like 10+ years of year round basketball plus I didn’t grow past 5’11, but I can walk into a gym, watch for 5 minutes, and know if I even want to play or not.
Honestly it’s why I haven’t really played pickup in 5+ years. I’ve got a kid, wife, and day job. I don’t wanna have to go home with a broken whatever after pickup basketball. My list of injuries is long enough 😂
My life goal is to die playing basketball and then have them name the gym after me. I was playing ball and tore my Lisfranc ligament and broke some bones in my foot a few years ago and had to get surgery. My wife said “well, now are you finally going to stop playing basketball?” Hell no, I was just motivated to get back on the court ASAP. The day my doctor cleared me, I was back out there playing pickup. Ball is life.
The other side is that by retirement, some of these pros’ bodies are all worn out. Guys like him, Shaq, Isiah Thomas, etc., had significant injuries end their careers
Yeah sounds more like Chuck is a competitor and basketball was the best medium for him to do that.
I also get the not wanting to deal with people that fight every run and cry about every call.
Now that I’m older, I’m more selective about the group I hoop with.
Same reason you don’t see pool pros playing at your local dive bar. Having to go 20% or just demolishing everybody isn’t fun for anybody
Same thing with Chess, video games, anything competitive, physical or not. When you become top .0001% at anything, it’s not fun for either side.
I played an incredibly popular FPS game professionally for a couple years, and afterwards any time someone (particularly as I finished college) learned about it, they would hound me to play them.
Not once did it ever end with “Thanks for playing me that was a great learning experience” or anything like that. It was mostly hurt feelings and anger. It’s just not worth it.
Yeah hurt feelings is accurate.
I was top 50 for a bit on a specific year of madden a while back, was at a group setting and people were talking about how I played for money and won some local and online tournaments.
One guy gets really amped up about playing, people peer pressure to play, and host turns his Xbox on. I finally agree and the first two plays was my kick return for a TD and a pick six. Dude got pissed, slammed his controller, and quit and was mad the rest of the night saying i was a cheeser….
There’s no winning in these situations
It feel really weird reading these stories. I have been in these situations in different sports and it’s always fun to see how good someone can be. It has never been a negative experience even for the guy who loses. Just inspiring and a great story.
The guy that really wants the match and pressuring for it is almost always the absolute worse person to play and the sorest loser because of the amount of ego required to put yourself in that position.
Yea that sounds about right lol I got decent at smash bros, local tourneys etc. So maybe top .2%, 1v1 with friends isn’t a thing anymore
Smash Bros in particular is one of those games with incredibly high skill expression as well, so yeah, I feel you on that one. I had a roommate at one point that, if I had to estimate, was a similar skill level. I stopped playing with him after a point, because I don’t really enjoy fighters and he was so much better than me it would have taken a ton of effort to even take more than 1 stock.
Very similar story to mine. Kids in high school would always get on me to play them and would always get so mad when I didn’t have to try honestly. As if playing a game professionally wasn’t going to make me really good at it lol.
I have a hard time playing FPS games competitively anymore because it just doesn’t scratch that itch. Probably never will again.
I still play FPS games occasionally to scratch the itch. Most of them don’t, but I found one or two that did.
I don’t play with anyone I know though, I just log on and solo queue ranked or play with the occasional streamer or two in my rank.
I actually find have a much harder time playing non-FPS games and finding joy in them now. Any time I try playing a single player game I’m bored to death less than an hour in, or paralyzed with the anxiety of missing all the hidden secrets or whatever because I know I’m not the type to play one twice through.
The exceptions for me seem to be grindy MMOs or like city builder/colony simulator games.
lol you were playing with dummies. learning someone did anything competitive professionally and challenging them when you have an ego about winning is a ridiculous thing to do. i like chess and could see being curious if a top tier player was around just to see what a game would be like. but getting mad when they obviously beat me would be so stupid lmao
in all honesty, i’m not even that great at chess and ive already gotten to the point where it’s not that fun to play my friends because anyone with any actual experience playing chess is going to easily whoop someone who has played less than 500 games in their life. my friends don’t get mad or anything but it usually doesn’t seem terribly interesting for either of us
Those people suck and are sore losers then. I have a mate who played FPS professionally and coached afterwards. Played a couple of games with him over some drinks and it mostly involved me laughing incredulously and repeatedly saying “fuck you’re so good”. Played some team shooters as well and people were accusing him of being a bot repeatedly.
There are massive levels to gaming, it’s wild.
In a similar vein, I was around top .5% in a popular game at one point. So better than the vast majority of people.
I had some friends question why I didn’t try to go pro or anything. .5% was utter shit compared to pros, or even just the highest ranked players. I just played the game for fun, and played it a lot so got pretty good.
There was never any chance I’d be able to compete with the actual best players. With millions of players, despite being .5 percentile, there was still tens of thousands of players better than me. It was like expecting the worst college player to be able to go pro in their sport. But an even wider gap.
Isn’t smurfing pretty rampant in online competitive activities, especially video games?
It’s both popular to do and as content for streamers as well. Plenty of pro gamers from what I know smurf. Those “bronze” (or whatever competitive ranking equivalent) to highest rank streams for content for example are pretty prevalent.
For those that don’t know, smurfing is basically the term of making new competitive accounts to play below ones actual inherent level in match making.
A different dynamic here is you can do it anonymously unlike an in person activity. There’s also no injury risk unlike physical sports.
My dad’s a former pool pro.
His absolute favorite thing in the world is going to a local dive bar and playing on a wonky 7 ft table with torn felt. No matter where we are, he’s up for playing and he gets absolutely giddy when I find a pool table in a random spot (like in the middle of a crowded dance club or one outside at a brewery).
He also says the best way to play down to regular people’s level is by taking big risks. He doesn’t have to play worse, he just has to be less strategic - which to him is more fun.
He also still watches pool 3-4 hours a day (at a minimum) and will frequently recognize regionally ranked players at random bars.
So, pool is probably not a good example here, from my experience. Those dudes love the game. Even under the worst conditions.
Imo anything non physical contact is different.
I mean Barkley could probably just chuck up 3s and win that way, don’t pro players shoot like 90%+ on 3s in practice? Like with no pressure, any retired pro would destroy.
Saw a clip of Montrezl Harrell at LA Fitness once. dude was hitting step back and fadeaway threes like it was nothing. this is a guy who wouldnt even attempt a corner three in the NBA
Most people don’t understand the speed and power that is required to compete at professional sport at the highest level. Compared to that, amateurs might as well be doing everything in slow motion.
as they say there are level to this shit. I remember when I was in HS I was dominating the locals in our neighborhood court. Like I could do everything without any issue. Then I tried playing against my high schools’ players, dang I couldn’t even dribble, shit was uncomfortable to do anything because they are fast and sharp. lol
Yeah exactly
He could at his age drive the ball with 5% effort and make a lay up every time probably
Idk about that
He could.
A 63 year old Charles Barkley driving at 5% effort and making a layup every time against a defender is not happening y’all are delusional
Pool pros don’t play dive bars because the tables suck, the environment sucks, and you don’t want to be near drunkards with sticks in their hands.
Plenty of pool greats play local pool halls. Pool is kind of like golf in that way: when you’re at the table it’s you against yourself, your opponent don’t really matter all that much.
Yep. We used to regularly play with pros in our local pool club. These guys grew up in locals watching their dad play while hanging out with the uncs. They love the atmosphere. Its like a second home to them.
Or a chess grandmaster going to a small local tournament
Unless you’re Hikaru trying to farm minimum games, it’s all downside (you lose and it tanks your ELO) and minimum upside (if any).
John Bartholomew was doing a YouTube video where he played against a lower rated player once on lichess. He said a win netted him zero, a draw would lose him like 65 points and a loss would drop his elo by 130 points haha.
Well, the upside was meeting the games quota
Yep! Hence the “farm minimum games” part.
Funnily enough, the world #2 (maybe #3 now?) did just that last year, basically gaming the system to qualify for the world championship.
Billiards? Efren Reyes still plays on local billiards place most of the time.
Dude would play anyone who goes to his billiard hall place at home lol
Totally agree, but at the same time disparaging dudes playing hard against their peers at the gym seems like a low blow. I’ll play like it’s game 7 against the other plumbers because that’s my skill bracket. Don’t make fun of me for caring
but chuck’s point is exactly that you’re not in a game 7! the level of intensity is not proportional to the stakes.
the older i get the more i’m with chuck here. i hated the emotionally disregulated dudes in my 20s getting pissed over missed foul calls in a YMCA league and in my 30s i certainly couldn’t stand careless dudes who would crash and dive all over a concrete court during a random summer night run.
From his perspective how could it not be silly? He’s Charles Barkley, watching regular dudes play a pick-up game trying as hard as possible probably is equivalent to watching toddlers, it’s laughable to him. And that’s fine, doesn’t mean you should stop caring, but you can’t demand respect for your basketballs from Chuck, cause he’ll probably make a joke
I agree with you in principle but guys like chuck – hall of famers – blew past that level in their sophomore year of high school. For top 100 guys, caring is not enough to earn respect; there was never any redemption in effort without victory. To him, watching guys like us sweat it out on the court in planet fitness is pathetic because he had to wire himself to think anything less than all-nba level play was pathetic.
I’m not endorsing that attitude, cuz eventually it just becomes corrosive, but that’s probably been his mindset for fifty years and it’s not going to change.
What are you even saying? He isn’t making disparaging remarks on their level (or rather that isn’t his main point). He’s saying it makes no sense for grown adults who don’t play basketball for a living to be so invested that they are shouting and fighting each other over a meaningless pickup game.
The GOAT Efren Reyes is still playing local bars in the Philippines.
im not a plumber, im an accountant. get it right chuck
Accountant solidarity. You need to credit? I’ve got your debit right here.
spreadsheet monkey gang
Do you have goofy golfer pants and a fat ass?
What I think is interesting is that Charles views basketball as a source of glory, not joy. This explains a bit of the “ring culture” and that it must truly kill him inside that he never got one. He only sees the sports as a means to an end - proving yourself against the best.
Such a shame that he ran into the greatest player of all time as one of the greatest players ever. I wish he won a ring
He could’ve ring chase a few years earlier to win a ring ngl
Yeah, I play with a wide range of people, and juco is about the tops, but there’s an active D2 player that comes in and just smokes us. He’s mean about it too. And he’s not physically dominant, he’s maybe like 6’3” and 180 lbs, but just cooks. He just wants to play, and doesn’t really care that we’re scrubs compared to him, ha.
Damn Chuck looks leaner than he did in his Rockets stint
Guess all those glp ads are real lol
And he’s one of the few old chubby people that got skinny and looks way better instead of like … unhealthy and emaciated.
the last point is so salient…i forget how ridiculously into it guys can get. like theyre a dad named tony about to throw hands w the umpire of his kid’s little league
I had people that I used to play with that I don’t play with anymore. Better than all of them but not worth the scrathes all over my body and busted lip when I get home. My girl asking me where tf I been at…
I found a run with a group of pretty chill people and have been clinging to it for years even though its a bit of a drive away.
I tried to play elsewhere nearby but almost always I would see guys try too hard and start fighting. I cannot deal with that anymore.
Basketball was my life for close to 30 years and I just sort of accepted the arguments, the injuries, and everything else as the cost of doing business. I figured that’s how I could best stay in shape so that’s just how it’s always going to be.
Following two knee surgeries and COVID, my basketball playing days tailed off and I replaced those workouts with things like cycling, hiking, and rock climbing. In turn, one of my most notable realizations was that I 100 percent do not miss the arguments and over-competitiveness. Even when I had a reliable group of hoopers, it seems like arguments or contention would still seep through. The peaceful solitude of cycling and hiking has been a nice antidote.
That being said, even if I could go back in time, I’d never give up those decades of hooping. Tons of great moments, great friends, and all the rest. But it’s just the further I get away from it now, the more I can’t imagine going back, especially as I get older and older every single year.
Idiots who think playing in a pick up game is them playing in the NBA
I play against several former NBA guys at private runs on a near weekly basis. Granted most of us there are also ex-pro or semi-pro guys (on a lesser scale than the NBA obviously) so it’s not quite what Chuck is talking about. But the dudes play to stay in shape and bc they love the game, not everyone shares Chuck’s mentality on this one.
How many functional knees though
fewer every week honestly
I mean - that makes sense - but you are inviting idiots like me to the game.
Playing with and against former pros is not the same, though. Randos overcompensate with aggression or just can’t control themselves. It’s easy playing with good players, everyone knows just how much effort to put in, there’s no needless dangerous fouls except on real accident, even when things get heated you can trust that they won’t go into actual assault territory.
That’s what I was going to ask. Wouldn’t most of these guys be involved in that same private circuit you see everyone running pickup games in the offseason.
I’m sure all of these guys could comfortably find game time until they truly just had to stop playing even for the love of the game.
Bro called Kevin Garnett, Kevin durant at first LMAO
I was hoping he’d just continue with Kevins - McHale, Duckworth, Johnson, Willis, Porter from the 70s, Loughery…
Don’t forget
Jordan saw them playing like it was game 7…and he took it personally
When Jordan was coming back out of retirement to play for the wizards in 2001, he was asked why and he said something like he loves playing basketball but was sick of playing against guys at the local YMCA.
Hakeem plays at my local rec, but he’s not playing basketball; he’s playing ping pong with the local asian uncs
The last point is the best point. People take it way too seriously. I still play rec league soccer, but I stick to co-ed and over 30 leagues. People play for the joy of the game in those leagues, rather than an outlet for all the negativity in their lives. I once played on a men’s league team where one of my teammates brought a gun to a game over a playtime dispute.
They don’t even take it seriously, they just use it as an excuse to vent aggression. When good players take it seriously it just gets physical.
That’s why I stopped playing pickup basketball. So much complaining and arguing that it wasn’t fun. I switched to running. Now my enjoyment is not linked to other people’s behavior.
Our team once played against someone who brought a knife
I think those casual leagues are some of the most dangerous. Not due to malice, but inexperience and naivety. For context, I played in an MLS academy in my youth and did some ODP as well. I played some rec leagues - competitive and casual - and I always got hurt in the casual leagues. I’d only play on the quarter and half turn, no tackling for me.
People in those leagues will do things like lunge in well after I’ve passed the ball. If you shield the ball they’ll kick your plant leg in a genuine attempt to win the ball. And… don’t bother trying to win a header because someone will come flying into you while you’re in the air.
I’ve never been injured at a higher rate than when I played a casual rec league.
“there was a fight everyday, every foul they’re screaming”
so basically the current NBA
Lol - but at least there is a tangible potential affect on salary instead of just bruised egos
Fight everyday in the current nba?
The issue is that it’s only downside.
“You’re not Charles Barkley. You’re just a wannabe who looks like him.”
BEGONE WANNABE! BEGONE!
I’ve seen Chuck play pickup once. In Auburn, spring/summer of 1984, between the end of the season and the draft. Concrete courts, full sun, behind a community center. He would get the defensive rebound, walk the ball up to midcourt, shoot it, chase the rebound, one dribble dunk it on everybody. He played one game and then he left.
it’s not like you would want to play pickup against a bunch of 6 year olds. same for them
Speak for yourself I’ll go out and put up 20-20 on some nephews no problem
This guy hasn’t played pickup since he got blocked by a “ 5 foot nothin’” girl back in 96.
Chuck is as flawed as the rest of us but damn if he isn’t one charismatic dude.
And as far as I know he never saved up his feces to pour on a rookie like that absolute piece of shit Shaq did.
This was 2004-ish. My wife’s work had a raffle and she won a free month membership at Gaine Village Spa. This is a high end gym in the heart of Scottsdale, AZ. We go there to claim her reward and they’re giving us walk through, showing us all amenities. At one point we ran into Charles and our host introduces us to him, we shake hands and that was it. I knew we couldn’t afford the membership, but when I saw Chuck was there, I knew it was time to pack up and go home. I believe it was \(180/month, which is like \)500/month today.
I don’t play for the same reason. I don’t mean that I’m great at basketball but because there are always some dudes who take it way too seriously and it’s just not fun. I’m just out there to get in an hour to relive the playground days, not get into fights with adults about whether hand-checking is allowed.
Demarcus Aldridge used to smoke people in Dallas pickup games 😂 I guess some dudes just wanna play no matter who it is.
Lemarcus Cousins
Shane Bacon? In my r/nba?
Hell yea
And then you have our folkhero Brian Scalabrine just ruining dudes confidence across the nation.
I know it was only 4 years, but did Kobe (RIP 🙏) ever play any pick up basketball after he retired, like at all?
For some reasons, he also struck me like someone would hang it up for good and moved on to something else entirely.
Despite, or I guess because of he was such an intense competitor.
He looks really good in playing shape now.
Glp
Harris YMCA used to have a bunch of D1 players and future pros. You’d run into guys like Steph Curry when he was at Davidson, Anthony Morrow, and even former NFL players like Mike Tolbert and Tre Boston.
That shit wasn’t even fun. They were so overwhelmingly better than the rest of us that you’d just sit there wondering, why are we even here?
Still can’t get used to Skinny Chuck. It feels…wrong.
lol love the reaction after he says “no disrespect to anybody…”
they know what’s coming
is he on that ozempic?
He’s Definitely still getting used to his turkey teeth.
When did he do that? I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve seen them.
Why does he sound different and his movements seem off ? Does he wear dentures ?
I play pickup and a couple times as I was getting better I invited a buddy, who didn’t play, to the court and annihilated them. It didn’t feel satisfying. It wasn’t fun and it made them feel bad. That’s probably what it would feel like for Charles to play the local “good” hoopers at the rec center.
What’s interesting is Chuck is just describing a shitty run. So much of the experience of being an aging normie hooper through your 30s and 40s is trying to stay connected to good runs that don’t have all that nonsense.
“They act like its game 7”
Chuck should see what a 2230 beer league hockey game looks like lmao
I once played floor hockey against an ex-NHL player. It was a game with teens and I was the only one on either team even close to him in size, so I decide to try and shadow him so the other players would have a chance. That man humbled and exhausted me in short order.
Shout out Gainey Village!