The Los Angeles Lakers were possibly at their lowest point ever during the 2016-17 season. Kobe Bryant, who had retired the previous season, was possibly the only star player on the roster besides a budding D’Angelo Russell on the team. So when Charles Barkley and the Inside the NBA crew found out that a mid-season league pass for a Bucks-Lakers game was going for $6.99, they couldn’t hold their laughter during a 2017 episode of NBA on TNT.
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The 2016-17 Lakers’ season was nationally televised and even aired on League Pass. But many felt that they didn’t deserve to be featured. The team would go 26-56 for the season, finishing 14th in the Western Conference. The ironic thing about the Lakers was that they were expected to be that bad, with Vegas putting them dead last in the league for the season.
Charles Barkley calls the $6.99 Lakers ticket “highway robbery”
Charles Barkley is the heart and soul of Inside The NBA. The Hall Of Famer never backs down from sharing his opinion candidly on the show. So when the Chuckster found out that a Lakers-Bucks game was selling for $6.99, he couldn’t hold back his laughter.
During the NBA on TNT broadcast that aired six years ago, Charles told his co-hosts, “Bucks and the Lakers! $6.99 for the Lakers. More like $1.99. You pay $6.99 for that game you get Bamboozled. Please don’t pay $6 for that game, come on man. That should be on the dollar store… That highway robbery man.”
The crew couldn’t hold their laughs back during Chuck’s little rant. Ernie Johnson jokingly joined Charles in his rant, telling everyone “I could think of a lot of things to do with 6 dollars, watching the Lakers and Bucks is not on that list”. Shaquille O’Neal also chimed in telling the American public, “America, please save your money, don’t buy these tickets“.
Kenny Smith was the only person to point out Charles’ misunderstanding of the situation, as $6.99 was the price of a subscription for NBA League Pass for the entire year. Kenny had to keep reminding all his crew members, “Guys it’s for the whole year“. Though Smith’s logic fell on deaf ears, as everyone was busy laughing their guts out. The game turned out to be just like any other regular-season game, with the Lakers surprisingly pulling off a win against the Milwaukee Bucks, with a final scoreline of 122-114.
Barkley hates talking about the Lakers
Charles Barkley hates the Lakers and it’s not a secret. According to Charles, the Lakers get attention from the media when they haven’t done much to deserve it. During a segment on Inside the NBA, Charles went off about the Lakers, saying, “It just makes me sick. I don’t know who’s worse: us or the clowns on other networks… we must get a bonus every time we talk about the Lakers. The Lakers stink.”
Barkley might just have the last laugh in his beef with the Lakers. With Dame going to the Bucks and the Suns putting 4 All-Stars in their line-up, the chances of the Lakers winning next season are looking slim.
