Rumors

Tony Allen: Y'all was working in a in a real hectic environment during that time. It went viral with the Donald Sterling sh*t. Was that kind of hard to deal with? Matt Barnes: To me it didn't matter, TA, because I faced real racism in my life. In my senior year of high school like this dude was [expletive] with my sister and calling her a [n-word] this and spit on her and everything. She was a soft motherf*cker. I had to whoop this dude. And when I got suspended, this is in probably a couple months before I went to UCLA. I got suspended for a week, like midweek when I'm suspended, the KKK comes and like burns crosses and hangs mannequins in the tree like [n-word] die and swastikas everywhere. So I’ve seen like real hateful sh*t. So to hear like a owner talking about black people this and black people that, like I didn't give a [expletive] about what that old senile [expletive] had to say, but obviously the rest of the world did. 

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NBA Courtside: Matt Barnes on when he fake threw the ball in Kobe Bryant face in the finals: “The Orlando sh*t I told him in our last interview like bro I was ready to fu*king like I was ready to go, like fu*k basketball. Was ready to throw that ball in your face. Because he gets like he’s already so good but then he’ll elbow you and grab you and I remember I caught a dunk tip off the rim because he was guarding me and he tried to block Dwight shot and it fell of perfect and I put that b***h down and that motherfu*kers elbowing me from like my waist to my chest to like my chin and the ref was right here and didn’t say nothing. I was ready to go. He had already elbowed me in my sternum and knocked the wind out of me that game. It was just who he was, you know what I mean? And it was after the game and be you good, it was that line of respect.” (Via @OutTheMudTL)

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NBA Courtside: Matt Barnes on his relationship with Kobe Bryant: “I remember when the Drake and Rick Ross song came out Stay Schemin' and you wasn’t with me shooting in the gym. I remember when that sh*t came out and how made he was about that was crazy and I’m going kind to leave that where that was. But then I also remember another time where we just having a good time. We were in Phoenix on the bus about to get on the plane and we were joking talking sh*t because I came here off the rip just talking sh*t you know I mean I talk sh*t, I’m talking sh*t to Kobe and he’s talking it back. So it kind of changes the whole mood. But one day I was literally like bro how come you don’t show the rest of the world this side of you? And he like thought for second. He’s like, “MB, I can’t show these motherfu*kers that,” you know, I mean, because he always showed the rest of the world the Mamba. Like, I got to know Kobe, you know what I mean? And the person and the businessman and the Father, how much he loved my kids and just the man behind the mask and that’s what I treasure most about our friendship” (Via @OutTheMudTL)

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Matt Barnes: I lost my mom to cancer. He was diagnosed November 1st, 2007, died November 27th. So within 26 days, I lost my best friend. And you know, after and it right at the beginning of the season after the that 2008 season. I just tried to wanted to find a way to give back. So she died from four cancers all in stage four. So cancer was the avenue I went down. And throughout my journey, we provided scholarship funds. We provided, aid for people who needed help cuz most of the time, if you don't have insurance or even if you do have insurance, man, cancer treatment will wipe your bank account out. So, we were able to help people pay for bills and do things like that.

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Matt Barnes: I had a little cameo on ‘Think Like a Man' and ‘Ninja Turtles’, but I didn't really have no talking parts. But what I learned is she got me an acting coach and she's like, "Listen, like lose yourself into the character and try to relate parts to your life and that's how you kind of come all through with authentic, you feel authentic." So, I took that sh*t serious, because with social media, they be talking sh*t and trying to clown. So, I already had to be a detective. So, I at least had to be a cool detective. So I really worked on that and had acting class once a week… Zach Randolph: Fair to say, we’re going to see some more acting roles. Barnes: You might.

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Matt Barnes: "It started in San Jose. I'm Italian and Black. I was in San Jose until about eight or nine. My dad was in the streets to make ends meet. He was a butcher by day, sold drugs by night. My dad used to get dressed in all black and hit the streets, so my little brother, who is four years younger than me, for the longest time thought my dad was a ninja. Dad's going out to fight crime in the middle of the night."

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Matt Barnes: "I faced a lot of racism. So instead of pouting about it, my dad used to say, 'If they call you a n*****, fight them.' And being Italian and Black, you're never white enough and you're never Black enough. So from third grade, I was scrapping. Anytime the word came around, I was fighting. And so much that my mom became the yard duty on the elementary school, and then I would get it on the other side too because I would go to white schools, then my parents would take me downtown into more of the Blacker areas and I would play basketball there. And I was a white boy to some of them, so it was always fighting for respect."

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Matt Barnes: I think respectfully this is the first time cuz I know we've said it a lot and heard it a lot over the last two or three years that LeBron James has kind of surrendered the keys and accepted that third role. And I think this is where I feel like this is why the Lakers are better because to me, Braun being in that 17-point triple-double range every night and allowing Luka to be Luka and AR to be AR makes that team so much more potent instead of LeBron having to score in the 20s. He can still do it. Don't get me wrong. He could definitely still do it. But I think he found a way where he can preserve. Let these two young boys go out there and do the heavy lifting, and I'm still gonna pop up in the playoffs and give you 30 a few times through this run.

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Bonzi Wells: We had a window but just after that game it was like so deflating. Matt Barnes: Sheed, you said you put the blame on yourself. Tell me why. Rasheed Wallace: Oh yeah cuz out of them 13 shots I missed, like six or seven of them and they was dummies too. Right there in front. Boom. Yo jump shot. Boom. Jump hook. Boom. Right there. I've missed all that sh*t. So, I put a majority of it on myself. And I also I think for me in my opinion where all that sh*t started going downhill was when Mike Dunleavy called the timeout after we was telling him not to call a timeout. He's trying to call a timeout and we trying to distract the refs like no, no, no…

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NBACentral: Pat Bev calls out Matt Barnes. “I’m not Derek Fisher, bro. You can take that left, or you can take that right—however you want... you weren’t better than me in basketball at anything. Zero.” 😳 (h/t @NBA__Courtside )

Twitter

Former NBA star Matt Barnes is pushing back on rumors that claimed he was scammed by an AI model. A rumor circulating around the internet got fresh air from another former NBAer, Gilbert Arenas, who addressed the gossip on his own podcast. Apparently, as the internet says, Barnes fell victim to a catfish who managed to walk off with $61,000 of his money. 'I've sat back and watched the internet lie about me the whole year,' Barnes said in a video posted to his Instagram account. 'The whole year -- lies from me being gay, to me talking abortion to me telling some girl not to do a reality show.' 'I get back from Dubai ... I see all of a sudden I'm suing an A.I. model, or I got played by an A.I. model.' 'You guys believe I got played by an A.I. model, and I'm suing 'em? Where the f*** did you guys get this from?!'

Daily Mail

Barnes also called out Arenas, saying he eventually reached out to the former Wizards star to ask why he never checked in with him in the first place. 'I told him, 'After all we've been through, bro, like tap in with me to see if it's real.' He apologized,' Barnes said. He added in the video, 'Y'all can't believe everything you motherf***in' hear!!' Barnes opened up about a tough 2025 for him. In addition to the rumors, the 45-year-old revealed in April that his fiancée, Ananasa Sims, broke off their engagement. He was later publicly accused of infidelity by Sims.

Daily Mail

Barnes, who is the CEO of All the Smoke Productions, told me that because of the increase in NBA content in the so-called manosphere, there can be pressure to give takes for clicks. (I told him that sounded familiar.) “There are some athletes in this space who say some of the craziest s—,” Barnes said. “I feel like if I put the work in and have deep, meaningful conversations, I’ll go viral for something that’s an interesting story.”

Los Angeles Times

Matt Barnes: “This has really been bothering me because Klay Thompson, to me, is one of the coolest, most down-to-earth, nicest dudes. He doesn’t bother anyone, doesn’t mess with anybody — just plays with his dogs and goes out on his boat. Klay is just so cool. When I start seeing the disrespect toward Klay, I think it speaks to a bigger issue — the climate we live in now. You can’t age out gracefully anymore. LeBron is a perfect example. No matter how much greatness he’s given us — whether you love him or hate him — people are still going to find a way to criticize him. And Klay, obviously, after having those two major injuries, he’s not the same guy. But I hate seeing these young dudes talking trash. And I try, man — I try to give Ja Morant so much grace. Like, I rock with J, bro. But he’s been doing some b******, man. We try to defend him — probably more than we should — because we see the potential.”

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