In a fiery episode of Inside the NBA last night, Charles Barkley didn’t hold back his opinions on the Los Angeles Lakers’ recent performance, LeBron James’ much-hyped dunk, and the coaching decisions that have led to the team’s struggles.
Barkley, known for his candid and often controversial remarks, expressed his dissatisfaction with the Lakers’ overall performance, calling them “bums” with “zero athletic ability” on defense. His comments came after the Lakers’ disappointing 118-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, who were missing Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Daniel Gafford.
In the game, LeBron James’ left-handed dunk was a standout moment. While many fans and analysts praised LeBron’s impressive play, Barkley was unimpressed, stating,
“It must’ve been a beautiful play if we’ve shown it 22 times.”
He went on to criticize the excessive replays and comparisons to Michael Jordan’s iconic mid-air switch. Barkley didn’t stop at the dunk. He also took aim at the Lakers’ coaching decisions, specifically calling out the scapegoating of former coaches Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham, as well as D’Angelo Russell.
“They know the Lakers got zero athletic ability on the defensive end. They blamed everything on D’Angelo Russell, and Frank Vogel, and Darvin Ham, but they still got the rest of them bums.”
Charles Barkley Roasts Lakers, LeBron’s Dunk, And Scapegoating On Inside The NBA pic.twitter.com/STQEDuSLrF
— OpenCourt-Basketball (@OpenCourtFB) January 8, 2025
