Charles Barkley is still not sold on the new-look Los Angeles Lakers.
During Thursday night's edition of TNT's , Barkley dropped his latest take on LeBron James and the Lakers' chances in the Western Conference a few weeks after they acquired perennial superstar Luka Doncic.
"I think they're solid," Barkley said. "I don't think they're a contender. … Listen man, they were awful to start the season—they've been awful for the last two or three years, in fairness. Luka is an upgrade, but I still don't think they are on the same level as the [Denver] Nuggets."
Barkley then went on to crown the Oklahoma City Thunder as the best team in the Western Conference and question if the Lakers are actually better than the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets.
Los Angeles is 3–2 in games Doncic has played in since the trade, including back-to-back wins over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday and against his former employer, the Dallas Mavericks, on Tuesday. Doncic didn't have his best showing against Dallas, putting up his fourth triple-double of the season but scoring just 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
Entering their matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Cypto.com Arena on Thursday night, the Lakers sit in fifth place in the West with a 35–21 record—trailing the Thunder (47–11), Grizzlies (38–20), Nuggets (38–20) and Rockets (37–22).
Perhaps the Lakers can convince Barkley their championship dreams are for real with a statement win over the Wolves at home.
