Charles Barkley Took Shot At ESPN, Lakers On Tuesday Night
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The Los Angeles Lakers got their first season-opening win in nearly a decade last night in a victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But NBA analyst Charles Barkley wasn't at all impressed to see it.
During the postgame discussion with the cast of NBA on TNT, Barkley joked that he's not looking forward to hearing the analysts at ESPN declare that the Lakers are NBA title contenders. He remarked that the Lakers are more likely to be a 9-seed this year more than anything else.
"The only thing bad, I gotta listen to those dudes on ESPN talk about how the Lakers are contenders tomorrow, and they're gonna be the number nine seed like they always are," Barkley said. "They gonna beat a dead horse tomorrow and say, 'The Lakers are contenders! The Lakers are contenders!"
"The only thing bad, I gotta listen to those dudes on ESPN talk about how the Lakers are contenders." Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/NnhqK3OSvf
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 23, 2024
When Shaquille O'Neal accused Barkley of being a "Laker hater," Barkley shot back.
"I'm not a Laker hater. I just hate how they gas these teams up when they ain't no good," he remarked.
The Lakers got 36 points from Anthony Davis in their 110-103 win over the Timberwolves. LeBron James had 16 points and got to live his dream by playing alongside his son Bronny James, if only for a few minutes.
The Timberwolves may not have been fully ready to adjust to life without all-world forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns, who was traded to the New York Knicks three weeks ago. Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, who joined Minnesota in the trade, combined for 26 points in the loss.
Are the Lakers as good as the hype will make them out to be, or was their win over Minnesota a bit of a fluke?
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