By the end of the second game on the NBA’s opening night, Charles Barkley was presumably the only commentator who felt let down. Barkley was preoccupied with his worries about what might occur tomorrow while Crypto.com Arena praised the historic achievement of LeBron James and Bronny James.
Before and after the Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks game, Barkley seemed to be in a terrific mood. He was beaming with happiness following Jayson Tatum and company’s resounding 132-109 triumph. But soon after, all of this joy was dismissed.
When JJ Redick’s team defeated the 2024 Western Conference Finalists 110-103, Sir Charles did not applaud them. Instead, he seemed irritated when he made predictions about the LA team’s prospects of winning the championship that would be included in the next ESPN headlines. Barkley said : “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,”
Lmao Charles Barkley is expecting ESPN to call the Lakers “contenders” tomorrow pic.twitter.com/22B75XYZRz
— Oh Yes He Did (@OhYesHeDid24) October 23, 2024
The Hall of Famer said that it annoyed him when poor teams were exaggerated to be better than they actually are, but he denied being a “Laker hater.” But Barkley’s animosity toward the Lakers, particularly in recent years, has been widely known. He has been critical of LeBron James and company on multiple occasions.
Barkley’s assessment of the Purple & Gold as a “play-in candidate” during the previous season may be said to be correct. The campaign’s premature evaluation of the Lakers, however, is inaccurate. Even though LBJ was far from his best, the club managed to defeat Anthony Edwards and company.
