SUMMERLIN, NV – Jack Eichel wants to clear something up.
“Of course, I know who Charles Barkley is. I don't think there's anyone on the planet who doesn’t. He's obviously all over the TV, and he's got a great personality, and I'm a big fan of him,” said Eichel, smiling and chatty Monday, following what he hopes will be the Vegas Golden Knights’ final practice of the season.
During an in-game interview with Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas Saturday in Florida, the gregarious basketball Hall of Famer detailed a brief meeting he’d had with Eichel at their shared hotel.
“I walked up to Jack Eichel and said how great he was. I think he had zero idea who it was,” Barkley said. “He looked at me like, ‘Who the hell are you?’ It was pretty funny.”
Naturally, Eichel’s teammates showed him the viral Barkley interview on their phones following Vegas’s Game 4 victory and wants the legend to know he didn’t intend to snub him.
“I think that was a little unfortunate. I think it was taken out of context. I was in a conversation with somebody, and he came by and introduced himself. We said hi quick. And he said, ‘I don't want to interrupt you,’ and he kind of just kept on walking down the road. And that was the extent of it,” explained Eichel, a Massachusetts native who roots for the Boston Celtics.
“So, it might have just been taken a little bit wrong. But he's awesome. It's great that he's been following hockey, and it's cool to see the relationship that the TNT guys have formed.
“But I'm a big Inside the NBA fan. I think they do a great job on that show, and I really enjoy watching it.”
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