Charles Barkley says there's "no excuse" for saying he would "hit" a female political reporter -- but insists the whole thing was an attempted joke gone bad.
Axios reporter Alexi McCammond says she was talking with the NBA legend about who he's supporting in the upcoming Presidential election ... and that's when he said, "I don’t hit women, but if I did I would hit you."
Here's the backstory ... McCammond says Barkley was initially explaining why he supported Gov. Deval Patrick -- former 2-term gov.