Charles Barkley Ruthlessly Trolls Lakers and Luka Doncic for OKC Defeat

Charles Barkley has maintained that he does not believe Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers are contenders.

Charles Barkley Ruthlessly Trolls Lakers and Luka Doncic for OKC Defeat

Luka Doncic and Charles Barkley (Image via FirstSportz)

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Charles Barkley is admittedly not a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. That is despite the fact that Luka Doncic and his teammates have been stringing together wins in LeBron James‘ absence.

The Lakers have used their unpredictability without James to post an 8-3 record, which saw them stand pat within the top 4 in the tight Western Conference.

As part of their 5-game road trip, their next destination was to face the Oklahoma City Thunder. The latter are in better form than they were at this stage last season, and that would become a problem for the men in purple and blue.

They punched the Lakers in the gut from the first whistle and held a 32-point lead at halftime. Coming out in the 2nd half, the away team tried to stage a comeback, but the Thunder still won the 3rd quarter.

They continued to try, but that colossal deficit was too much to overcome. After losing the game by 29 points, it was time for Charles Barkley and his Inside the NBA crew to analyze the game.

C’mon man. They out here doing Globetrotters stuff on the Lakers.

Charles Barkley reacted

This was the Hall of Famer’s reaction when he saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander draw two Lakers defenders and then send a behind-the-back pass to Isaiah Joe, who used all the additional space to calmly knock down a 3-pointer.

Barkley was essentially trolling the Lakers for looking out of sorts against the defending champions. He felt that was not a performance befitting a team touted to fight for the championship.

Charles Barkley believes Nico Harrison was made the ‘scapegoat’ in Luka Doncic trade

Luka Doncic is in his first full season with the Los Angeles Lakers after coming over from the Dallas Mavericks via trade before the 2024 deadline.

Some believe his performances for his current team may have played a role in the Mavs pushing GM Nico Harrison out the door. On that note, Charles Barkley believes the latter was made a scapegoat.

There’s no way in the world Nico Harrison had the power to trade Luka Doncic unless the owner of the team signed off on it… I feel bad the way Nico’s being made a scapegoat.

Charles Barkley said

The former league MVP does not believe Harrison could trade away Doncic unless the Mavs owners agreed to it. His belief stems from the fact that the Slovenian was the cornerstone of that franchise, hence making it impossible to be a one-man decision.

Reporters ask Luka Doncic about possible return to Dallas after Nico Harrison’s dismissal

Now that Nico Harrison is out of the Dallas Mavericks, reporters wanted to know what Luka Doncic felt about it. After he talked about how he still connects with the city and its fans, another reporter asked if the Lakers star would ever play for his former team.

Luka Doncic defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Luka Doncic defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Image via NBA Brasil/X)

Right now I’m just focused on the Lakers. No further comments.

Luka Doncic replied

He replied with a smile, suggesting he did not want to reveal what he truly felt about that possibility. Right now, he cannot return, as he is tied to the Lakers for the long run.

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