The first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies had as much entertainment off the court as on the court. Dillon Brooks was the prime source and constantly trash-talked the greatest player of all time – LeBron James. However, the tactic grossly backfired, and according to Charles Barkley, it was Brooks’ statements that brought the best out of the 38-year-old. He was let go by the Grizzlies organization after the series and recently signed a $80,000,000 contract with the Houston Rockets.
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During the series as an NBA analyst for the hit show ‘NBA on TNT’, Charles Barkley agreed to Brooks’ comment about LeBron being old. Though the statements made by Chuck had an element of humor in them, he did say Brooks wasn’t lying. If you consider the average age of an NBA player, Brooks may be right. But LeBron isn’t just any other player.
Charles Barkley comments on the LeBron James and Dillon Brooks rivalry
Charles Barkley was recently on ‘The Bill Simmons Podcast‘ to talk about the stories and happenings around the NBA off-season. As part of the conversation, Bill Simmons brought up the ability to sustain greatness and cited LeBron as an example. However, Barkley believed that the 2023 Playoffs series weighed on James, and it was the trash-talking from Brooks that got him through. Here is the quote:
“But you can see in the Playoff though. When he had a monster game, he would be tired the next game. And that’s what happens though. 1 thing that helped LeBron [James] was Dillon Brooks messing with him. Because that energy he was giving LeBron, even though he couldn’t sustain it from game to game, it did give him a juice to get them through the series.”
The first-round series between the LeBron James-led Lakers and the young Memphis Grizzlies ended in an upset. The seventh-seeded LA franchise beat the second-seed Memphis in six games to win the series. LeBron James emerged as the leading scorer for his team with 22.2 points per game at 48.6% shooting. In comparison, the Grizzlies forward could manage only 10.5 points per game at 31.2% shooting.
The Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors in the Conference Semi-Finals. They went on to lose to the Denver Nuggets in the Conference Finals. Memphis’ season came to an end after the first-round loss. In the aftermath, the franchise decided that Dillon Brooks would not be coming back for the next season. He eventually was picked by the Houston Rockets through a sign and trade during the offseason.
Barkley opines on aging players
In ‘The Bill Simmons Podcast’, Charles’ take on LeBron came from a conversation about sustaining greatness in the league for a long time. Before talking about the LA superstar, he used his career as an example to explain how it becomes difficult to summon the same amount of energy once you start getting older.
As a matter of fact, LeBron James also considered retiring after getting swept in the Western Conference Finals by the Denver Nuggets. Additionally, he spoke to the media about having to think about his future. He needed time to contemplate whether he wanted to continue to play basketball. However, he decided against retiring and will be seen donning the yellow and purple once again.
