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Charles Barkley Could Play Joker To LeBron James’ Batman

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Charles Barkley Could Play Joker to LeBron James' Batman

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Modern superheroes always come with a slew of enemies and one arch nemesis. Dr. Octopus was a pain in Spider-man’s you know what, but he was no Green Goblin. Darkseid gave Superman some fits, but it’s Lex Luthor we all remember. The same is certainly true for Batman. Recent movies have showcased Two-Face, Bane and Ra’s al Ghul, but none of them carry a candle to the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime even ranks as the No. 2 super-villain of all time on most lists behind only Magneto, who can unfairly manipulate metal with his mind. That’s pretty good for someone who’s one mutation is a permanent smiley face.

LeBron James has recently decided to follow former teammate and vacation pal Ray Allen to Hollywood, confessing that he’d like to play Batman after basketball. And since James has pretty much done everything he’s ever wanted to do his entire life, there’s no reason to believe that the King couldn’t one day become the Dark Knight. With that in mind, the question isn’t how or why but rather who would be his Joker?

Upon learning of Paul Pierce’s possible retirement, James conceded that Pierce had been his most consistent opponent, claiming that he pushed and calcified James’ skills in much the same way that Bad Boy Isiah Thomas did for Michael Jordan. But if we put The Truth in a purple suit and gave him a green wig, it’d be more ridiculous than creepy. Instead of the chills we all felt at seeing Heath Ledger’s Glasgow smile, we’d probably feel revulsion when Pierce showed up wearing Revlon Cherries in the Snow on his lips. Aside from that, I’ve never once heard Pierce crack a joke.

So who then? Kawhi Leonard? Jimmy Butler? Kobe Bryant? No, no, and no. The Joker’s great gift was that he had the personality and charisma to make murder seem funny. If Butler killed your grandmother, would you laugh or stab him in the groin? If you saw Bryant robbing a bank, would you admire his handiwork or call the cops? Only one NBA player of any era could successfully morph into such an iconic troublemaker as the Joker. You know who it is. Charles Barkley.

Barkley and James certainly don’t have an adversarial relationship. By definition, they can’t be adversaries because they didn’t play at the same time. Still, Barkley was the most vociferous critic of James’ move to Miami. Perhaps in retaliation, James aped Sir Charles in his first post-move commercial, saying, “I am not a role model” before biting into a sprinkle-coated doughnut, a reference to one of Barkley’s own commercials at the time.

Times certainly have changed. On Barkley’s first ‘Inside the NBA’ appearance this season, he was forced to wear glasses. As Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal berated him, James sent out a heartfelt tweet supporting his bespectacled one-time nemesis. This may be due to the fact that Barkley sung nothing but accolades after James announced his return to Cleveland. Sitting on the sidelines of the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ home opener against the New York Knicks, Barkley called the spectacle one of the most exciting events of his professional career.

We’ll never see the two squaring off on either the big or small screen. We’ll simply have to be content imaging what could have been if these two outsize forces of nature ever collided. What a matchup it would have made.

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