Charles Barkley is mad everyone keeps talking about the Lakers

Charles Barkley didn’t hold back when blasting the NBA and television networks for their unnecessarily robust coverage of the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Charles Barkley is round, revered, and ruthless. He is going to say what he wants to say and critique what he sees. That includes the Los Angeles Lakers.

During halftime of LA’s eventual OT loss to the Boston Celtics, Chuck didn’t hold back, calling out the NBA and television networks and shows for continuing to talk about the Lakers despite them being a bottom-of-the-league team.

"“The Lakers stink…It’s a conspiracy. And then we got all these clowns on television who have to talk about them every day. It’s a conspiracy. We have to talk about the Lakers – the Lakers are awful. We don’t talk about no other 14-seed. Well, sorry. They’re not a 14-seed. They’re a 12-seed… We don’t ever talk about the Washington Wizards, do we?”"

Social media seemed to echo the Chuckster’s thoughts.

Charles Barkley called out NBA media for continuing to talk about the Lakers despite a poor record

This critique from Barkley isn’t new. Patrick Beverly once made a verbal statement in 2019, after the Clippers beat the Lakers, that TV programs routinely showed highlights of James in defeats without discussing in depth the opponent that beat him. Beverly challenged the media to report the facts instead of showing crossover highlights of one of the game’s best.

The simple fact is that the Lakers have one of the largest fanbases in the league and reside in one of the largest markets in the league. They also have the most well-known player on their team. People are going to talk about them a lot, whether they are good or bad.

Check out The Step Back for more news, analysis, opinion and unique basketball coverage. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our daily email newsletter, The Whiteboard.