AUSTIN, Texas -- NBA Hall of Famer and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley is arguably the most entertaining person in sports television, as regular viewers of Inside the NBA know well.
Whether he's bashing sports analytics, roasting colleague Shaquille O'Neal or giving his unique take on today's NBA -- the man stays entertaining.
But much to the dismay of Basketball Twitter, Barkley has little love for social media. He revealed why in conversation with Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch at SXSW Interactive on Friday afternoon. And because it's Charles Barkley, he also dished on many other topics as only he can.
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Barkley told Deitsch the main reason he doesn't partake in Twitter: "I don't want to give some of these losers power."
Referencing the prevalence of sports trolls online, he's just fine avoiding that negativity.
"I have to pick a team to win the game, so half the population's going to kill me anyway," Barkley said, using his Inside the NBA colleague Ernie Johnson as an example. "If you say something bad about Ernie Johnson, I know there's something wrong with you because Ernie's the nicest guy in the world."
Being famous makes you more of a target, according to Barkley.
"It's like being smart," he said. "All the dumb kids hate you."
Barkley even said he'd advise a rising NBA star like Andrew Wiggins to stay off social media -- going against the advice of most sports business professionals.
Suffice to say, Barkley is no early adopter of new technologies. The NBA legend gave a well-publicized rant against the rising use of advanced analytics in sports last month. He doubled down on that criticism in Austin on Friday. Analytics are just statistics with a fancier name, he said -- "It's like if you're black you're a cook, if you're white you're a chef."
But Barkley saved his best quote in making an unlikely comparison that had nothing to do with social media:
"Golf and sex, you can suck at those and still have a good time." -- Charles Barkley #SXsports— Sam Laird (@samcmlaird) March 13, 2015
When Deitsch pressed Barkley on whether we'd ever see him join Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or the like, Barkley hesitated but seemed steadfast in his resolve.
As his quotes from Friday prove, that may be Barkley's gain -- but it's the loss of anyone who enjoys basketball or a good laugh.