Charles Barkley revealed something like a crush on Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Max Strus on Inside the NBA this week.
The former Philadelphia 76ers star discussed Strus during the Thursday (May 14) episode of the ESPN sports talk show, where the crew discussed Strus scoring 20 points and eight rebounds in the Cavs’ game against the Detroit Pistons.
After watching a recap of Strus’ postgame conference, Barkley couldn’t help but compliment his looks.
“First of all, Max Strus played great. I'm thinking what everybody was thinking. That's a pretty man,” Barkley gushed.
The comment led Kenny Smith to ask what Barkley found “attractive” about Strus. Barkley denied an attraction but called Strus a “good-looking man.”
“I don't believe in the man bun thing,” Barkley admitted while the roundtable teased him about Strus’ ponytail. “Listen, man, don’t be hating. That’s a pretty man.”
Barkley went on to confess that he wouldn’t look Strus “dead in the eyes” and recalled making that “mistake” with retired NFL player Tom Brady.
“He’s in Tom Brady’s class,” Barkley claimed, to which Smith joked that his colleague “had a type.”
Fellow Inside the NBA co-host Shaquille O’Neal also joked about having a thing for Brady while on a panel with him earlier this month.
“I’m trying to be sexy as Tom,” Shaq said during Milken Institute’s Global Conference 2026. “I mean, we've been friends for years, but I can't stop looking at him.”
