If you are taking notes, Los Angeles Lakers’ Charles Barkley is not at all impressed. The 118-97 loss to the Luka Doncic—and Kyrie Irving-less Dallas Mavericks does not sit well with his thinking. LA lost against a team that is struggling with a five-game losing streak and missing its top talent.
Taking to his routine Inside the NBA show, Charles Barkley didn’t hold back his criticism. The Hall of Fame forward and always-animated analyst declared that the Lakers have “zero athletic ability.” Barkley cut straight to the heart of the matter. According to him, the Lakers must show more athleticism and grit if they want to be considered true contenders for the championship.
“The Lakers stink, plain and simple. We have to talk about them because the media is infatuated with the Lakers. But the Lakers are not a good team. They have zero athletic ability,” Chucks said.
"The Lakers stink, plain and simple… They have zero athletic ability."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 8, 2025
Charles Barkley after the Lakers loss to the Mavs without Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving 👀
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/WQtDJ9tegh
While the Lakers entered the game with a decent record of 20-16, Barkley’s harsh words hit hard and pointed to a deeper issue within the team. Although they sit sixth in the Western Conference, the veteran analyst believes the team is simply not meeting the high expectations. Given their stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they are expected to outsell any team.
Also Read: Charles Barkley Has A Fiery Take On “Regressed” Anthony Edwards This NBA Season
Charles Barkley Bashed Lakers Coach JJ Redick For His Comments
If there is someone who is as concerned about the Lakers franchise other than the front office, it has to be Charles Barkley. He took it quite personally when responding to JJ Redick’s criticism of the team. Barkley joked that if Redick was blaming him and his fellow analysts for the team’s struggles, he might as well take a seat because they clearly aren’t out there missing shots or jacking up three-pointers.
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Instead, Barkley pointed out the real issues: the team’s inconsistent performance and the shortcomings of the coaching staff. He quipped that if he and Shaquille O’Neal were playing, they’d still be overshadowed by what he sees as a lackluster Lakers lineup.
“He said something about we’re the reason people ain’t watch this crappy product we got. Yeah, us, like we out there jacking up 100 threes a night. JJ, JJ, you come for the king, you better not miss. ‘Cause I can get you, brother, ‘cause I got your — remember, I got your Lakers games,” Barkley said.
Charles Barkley just eviscerated JJ Redick on national tv pic.twitter.com/fjja7HLtw5
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 3, 2025
As he critiqued Redick’s optimism about the Lakers’ situation, Barkley made it clear that deeper issues were at play. He brought attention to the previous coaches, Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham, indicating that the real problems aren’t just with the current coaching approach.
