Charles Barkley Discusses the GOATs of Basketball in New Documentary 'The Great Debate'

Charles Barkley will be opening up the discussion of what it means to be basketball’s greatest of all the time in the upcoming Turner Sports documentary, The Great Debate.

Set to premiere on May 18 — just before Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Western Conference Finals — The Great Debate “seeks to reframe the classic debate about basketball’s greatest of all time by redefining the very concept of ‘greatness,’” and arrives months after October 2021’s 75 Greatest Players in NBA History list, which includes Barkley himself. Fans can expect the Hall-of-Famer to shine a light on the players who have inspired him throughout his career, as well touch on what it means to be part of the NBA’s 75-year history.

“I am so proud of this film,” Barkley said in a statement, with the producers stating that The Great Debate is a “love letter to his NBA heroes” of every generation. “We’ve taken a very different approach by expanding the conversation about the GOAT to include the massive impact my top choices have made on American culture, civil rights, the business world and even our identity as a country. And it’s really entertaining too.”

The Great Debate will feature a total of six profiles based on Barkley’s “greatest” players from each decade, along with a roundtable discussion with the TNT Inside the NBA analyst and Spike Lee, Jackie MacMullan and Renee Montgomery. Scott Boggins is directing the film and is co-producing it alongside Barkley, Marc Perm, Marina Grasic, Jai Khanna, Randy Becke, Craig Jenest and Robert E. Morgan.

The Great Debate premieres May 18.

Elsewhere in sports, Lionel Messi has been named Forbes’ highest-paid athlete of 2022.