ICYMI, the NBA legend roasted the city, nicknamed the "Queen City of the Gulf," located about 50 miles southeast of Houston ... after the New Orleans Pelicans disappointing 106-85 loss to Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

"They didn't even try, man," Barkley said on NBA on TNT. "We're not giving them no plane ticket to the beach."

That's when Barkley said the lackluster performance didn't warrant a trip to a beautiful beach in Mexico ... and he had another destination in mind.

"We sending they ass to Galveston, Texas, right where that dirty water washed up on the beach. They can't even get in no water. That dirty ass water. We not even gon' send them to Cancun."

We called Galveston after Chuck's comments went viral ... and the city sees their home a bit differently than the Hall of Famer.

"While Galveston might not be the place for Chuck, we’d be more than happy to host the New Orleans Pelicans and share our sun-kissed beaches, luxurious 4-diamond resorts, exclusive spas, million-dollar beach homes, world-class attractions, and exceptional gulf seafood," Visit Galveston CEO and spokesperson Kimberly Danesi told us.

"We are proud of our beautiful shoreline hand cleaned by our coastal zone management team 365 days a year and kept safe by our internationally recognized lifeguards."

If the squad's interested, the Pelicans have time to visit ... they were swept by OKC on Monday. 4 up, 4 down, season over.

The city honchos weren't the only ones responding to Barkley's comments ... Beyoncé's mom, Tina, born and raised in Galveston, also had a message for Barkley.

"Chuck we don't play about Galveston Texas!" Tina said on Instagram. "You better watch it sucker! 😂😂Our water might not be blue, but it is still the beach and we love it!"