Why was Matt Barnes fired from Sacramento Kings broadcast? Exploring possible reason behind abrupt dismissal of former NBA champion

Ex-NBA player Matt Barnes is no longer part of NBC Sports California’s coverage for Sacramento Kings matches, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee.

At 43 years old, Barnes was serving as an analyst on the Kings’ pregame and postgame shows, a role he had been in for three seasons.

The adjustment follows an incident weeks earlier, where Matt Barnes was seen shouting at officials and confronting a high school basketball game's student play-by-play announcer in a match his sons were participating in, in Los Angeles.

Barnes was present at the matchup between Crespi Carmelite and Harvard-Westlake.

The Los Angeles Times documented Barnes' interaction with Jake Lancer, a student announcer for Harvard-Westlake, on the school's livestream broadcast. This occurred after a technical foul was called on one of Barnes' sons.

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Leaked video of Matt Barnes confronting the broadcaster surfaced

Social media footage depicted Barnes placing his right hand on Lancer's shoulder before the others separated them. Barnes allegedly threatened to slap Lancer.

During a recent appearance on "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz," Barnes talked about the incident.

“I was yelling at the refs, Dan. I’ve yelled at the refs my entire college career, my 15-year NBA career."

He continued:

“I coach AAU in the summertime, I have high school boys, and I have a 5-year-old coming down the pipeline, so I’m going to be doing a lot of yelling at the refs. This particular incident — I will say my one mistake was putting my hand on (the student broadcaster’s) shoulder. A lot of people want to say I grabbed this kid or I did this — I literally put my hand on this kid’s shoulder because it was almost like I was talking to my son."

Following the incident, Lancer tweeted that he did not say anything disrespectful to Barnes.

Lancer was also applauded by Harvard Westlake following the incident for his calm and composed demeanor throughout the fiasco, and was honored as the lead announcer.

Matt Barnes had a distinguished career beginning at Del Campo High School and UCLA before being drafted 46th overall in the 2002 NBA Draft.

Throughout his NBA tenure, he played for nine teams, including the LA Clippers, LA Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and the Kings. His career culminated with an NBA championship win with the Warriors in 2017, marking his retirement.