Charles Barkley threatens to skip the NBA All-Star Game if One Star Player is not selected.

If the NBA wants Charles Barkley to attend this season’s All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, they need make sure Jalen Brunson arrives first.

The vote results for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game starters were unveiled Thursday, and New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson was the most notable omission. Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton kept Brunson out of the Eastern Conference’s starting backcourt, and Charles Barkley noted this on Inside the NBA.

“I’m never going to throw shade at Dame Lillard,” Barkley declared. “I love him as a person and as a player, but I would have loved to see Jalen Brunson be a starter.”

Barkley went on to laud Brunson for making the Knicks “relevant for the first time since Patrick Ewing,” which indirectly criticizes Carmelo Anthony. However, Brunson has been the finest free agency signing in Knicks history, and one of the best in NBA history in terms of surpassing expectations.