Charles Barkley Refuses To Say Gradey Dick’s Last Name: ‘Not Gonna Call Another Man That’

You never know what Charles Barkley is going to say on Inside the NBA. But he has to draw the line somewhere — and that line starts at Toronto Raptors guard Gradey Dick.

The TNT crew was showing highlights from Tuesday night’s NBA slate, which included Dick’s 32-point performance in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

“This boy balling right here, y’all,” Barkley said, leading co-host Ernie Johnson to clarify, “Gradey Dick.”

Gradey Dick scored 32 points in the Toronto Raptors’ loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

(Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images)

That’s when Barkley launched into a diatribe about how he refused to say the word “Dick” — which had the other panelists laughing hysterically.

“Oh I can’t say his name,” Barkley declared. “I just can’t say his name. I’m not gonna say his name, I don’t give a damn what y’all say around here. I’m not gonna say that to another man. I don’t care what y’all say. His name is Gradey. Gradey. I’m not gonna say that man’s last name. I don’t care what y’all say around here. I’m not gonna call another man that, Shaq.”

Once they all pulled themselves together, Johnson observed, “It’s like we stepped back into middle school.”

Dicks’ 32 points was a career high for the second-year pro out of Kansas. But this isn’t the first time his name has given broadcasters fits. During Toronto’s game against New Orleans in February, Pelicans analyst Antonio Daniels asked play-by-play guy Joel Meyers to please stop saying “Dick.” 

“Dick stays out there,” Meyers said.

“Let’s just call him Gradey!” Daniels said, laughing. “Let’s just call him Gradey for the rest of the game!”

Middle school humor gets the best of all of us sometimes.