Charles Barkley Issued An Apology To The Spurs Before Game 5

Prior to Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Charles Barkley wanted to clarify a comment he made after Game 4 and issued an apology to Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson.

During the NBA Tip-Off show, Barkley addressed his remarks about the San Antonio Spurs after they blew that historic lead in Game 4 and said it was some of the dumbest basketball he'd ever seen. Barkley clarified that he was only referring to the players in that game and not the coaches. He said he wanted to apologize if Johnson took his remarks personally in part because he wants to see "more young black coaches in the NBA."

"I got a couple of NBA coaches call me and I want to be crystal clear: when I said it was really dumb basketball the other night, I was talking about the players. I wasn't talking about coach Johnson. I don't want to be criticizing young black coaches because we need more young black coaches in the NBA...if coach Johnson took my comments personally I want to apologize to him," Barkley said.

Deserved?

NBA fans weren't quite as kind to Johnson as Barkley wanted to be. Many feel that Johnson deserves all of the criticism he received after Game 4 due to how poorly he managed it in one of the most brutal losses in NBA Finals history.

"If his players were messing up it's the coaches job to call a timeout and call the out," one user on X pointed out.

"Well if he's calling the players dumb, then by extension he's saying the same about the coaching. Charles not the sharpest tool in the shed," another remarked.

"Nah Chuck. The coach too! You can't lose that kind of lead and not be blamed. I don't care if he's purple with green stripes. It's the coach fault too!" a third wrote.

At 39 years of age, Johnson is one of the youngest head coaches in the league and got the Spurs job under less than ideal circumstances when longtime head coach Gregg Popovich suddenly had to step down in 2024.

After missing the playoffs in the 2024-25 season, he led the Spurs to a dazzling 62-20 record - their best since the 2015-16 season - and saw them knock off the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals.

But his inexperience has been showing quite a bit in these finals as the Spurs have blown double-digit leads in all three of their losses.

If they blow one more lead, no amount of apologizing from Charles Barkley will save him from the wrath of fans.

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This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 6:25 PM.