Charles Barkley Takes Shots at ESPN, Expresses Anguish Over Potential “Lakers Are Contenders” Rant Tomorrow

Charles Barkley was probably the only pundit covering the NBA’s opening night to be disappointed by the end of the second game. As Crypto.com Arena celebrated LeBron James and Bronny James’ historic feat, Barkley was occupied with the fear of what might happen tomorrow,

Barkley appeared to be in a great mood before and after the Boston Celtics-New York Knicks clash. He was gleaming with joy after Jayson Tatum and Co. clinched a dominant 132-109 victory. However, all this happiness went out of the window soon.

Sir Charles didn’t laud JJ Redick’s boys for defeating the 2024 Western Conference Finalists 110-103. Instead, he appeared frustrated when predicting the upcoming ESPN headlines regarding the LA side’s title chances.

“The only thing bad, I gotta listen to those dudes on ESPN talking about how the Lakers are contenders tomorrow, and they’re gonna be the number nine seed, where they always are,” Barkley sounded as a detractor.

The Hall of Famer denied being a “Laker hater”, but simply claimed that it irked him when not-so-good teams were hyped up to be better than they are. However, Barkley’s hatred for the Lakers, especially in the past few years, has been well-documented. On more than one occasion, he’s been harsh while assessing LeBron James and co.

One could argue that Barkley wasn’t inaccurate in regarding the Purple & Gold merely as a “play-in candidate” during the previous season. However, this campaign’s way-too-early assessment of the Lakers is incorrect. The team defeated Anthony Edwards and co. despite LBJ being far away from his best.

Lakers record their first season opener win since 2016

The Los Angeles Lakers are still dealing with a few injuries to crucial role players such as Christian Wood and Jarred Vanderbilt. Coupled with the fact that the Lakers had a subpar 2-4 record in the preseason games, it wasn’t surprising to see the Minnesota Timberwolves being heavily favored to win.

However, the Lakers seemed to come out with a vengeance, appearing as though they had to redeem themselves after an embarrassing first-round exit in the previous postseason. Redick’s boys wasted no time in taking control of the driver’s seat. Playing 48 minutes of high-intensity basketball eventually resulted in a 7-point victory.

Surprisingly, LeBron didn’t have a massive contribution to the win. He began season #22 with a modest 16-point, 5-rebound, and 4-assist outing. But fortunately, Anthony Davis (36 points and 16 rebounds) and Rui Hachimura (18 points and 5 rebounds) picked up the slack and carried the Lakers to their first preseason win in 8 years.

It would be great for the Lakers if AD can keep up his intensity and take over as the leader on the floor. Not only would it take the pressure off Bron’s shoulders, but also would help the team in the larger picture.