With his basketball obligations over, Charles Barkley attended the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday, which resulted in an apparently strange interaction with Jack Eichel. Barkley explained on the Sportsnet broadcast that he didn’t believe Eichel knew who he was based on their conversation.
“The other day I was at the hotel. I walked up to Jack Eichel and said how great he was. I think he had zero idea who I was,” Barkley said on the broadcast. “He looked at me like, ‘Who the hell are you?’ It was pretty funny.”
Well, on Monday, the Golden Knights star addressed the situation, calling the encounter “unfortunate” and “taken out of context.”
“I was in a conversation with somebody and he came by, introduced himself real quick and said ‘I don’t want to interrupt you,’” Eichel said. “He kind of kept on walking down the road.”
Then, Eichel admitted that yes, he does know of the NBA Hall of Famer.
“Of course I know who Charles Barkley is, I don’t think there’s anyone on the planet who doesn’t,” he said.
"Of course I know who Charles Barkley is."
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 12, 2023
Jack Eichel speaks out after basketball Hall of Famer thought the Golden Knights center had "zero idea" who he was. 😂 pic.twitter.com/hJIRcTJwjA
Since TNT added hockey to its sports broadcasts in 2021, the separate NBA and NHL broadcasters have done several cross-promotions with each other. As a result, Barkley has gotten onto more hockey productions by just working for TNT.
“It’s great that he’s been following hockey,” Eichel said. “It’s cool to see the relationship the TNT guys have formed.”
Up 3–1 in the series, the Golden Knights are going for their first Stanley Cup Finals title on Tuesday night vs. the Panthers on TNT.
