Charles Barkley Sends Lakers Fans Into a Frenzy With Surprising 2026 Team Comparison

Since joining “Inside the NBA” as an analyst in 2000, former NBA player Charles Barkley has made some of the most outrageous predictions. In his recent appearance on Bill Simmons’ podcast, Barkley had a strong take about the new-look Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers moved on from LeBron James this offseason, making Luka Doncic the main superstar. Doncic now has the keys and is expected to guide LA to success. However, there aren’t many expectations for the team’s success going into the 2026–2027 campaign.

Barkley is not among those who don’t think that way about the Lakers. The former 11-time All-Star thinks the current roster can perform well. He also believes LA is a better group than the 2024 Dallas Mavericks team that Doncic led to the NBA Finals.

February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Charles Barkley is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

“I really want to see the Lakers do well. First of all, I’m a big Luka fan, a big Austin Reaves fan. I think they’re gonna be better than people realize. Luka and Kyrie took the Mavs to the Finals, come on, man. This team is probably better; this team is probably just as good as that team,” he said.

“I really want to see the Lakers do well. First of all, I’m a big Luka fan, a big Austin Reaves fan. I think they’re gonna be better than people realize. Luka and Kyrie took the Mavs to the Finals, come on, man. This team is probably better; this team is probably just as good as that team,” he said.

After Charles Barkley said this about Doncic and the Lakers, NBA fans went into a frenzy.

“Dn Chuck glazing the Lakers without Bron

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didn’t see that one coming,” a fan said.

“Ahh so it was just LeBron he hated.. checks out,” another fan commented.

“Damn he really hated Bron bad

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,” one fan said.

“Because the player he hates isn’t in LA anymore lol,” someone commented.

“Looks like a few of your lbs lost were from your brain shrinking,” a comment read.

“AR is not comparable to Kyrie Irving smdh,” one fan commented.

“Dn Chuck glazing the Lakers without Bron

didn’t see that one coming,” a fan said.

“Ahh so it was just LeBron he hated.. checks out,” another fan commented.

“Because the player he hates isn’t in LA anymore lol,” someone commented.

“Looks like a few of your lbs lost were from your brain shrinking,” a comment read.

“AR is not comparable to Kyrie Irving smdh,” one fan commented.

One of the teams that Charles Barkley thinks would be great next season is the Indiana Pacers. The team will have their star player, Tyrese Haliburton, back. He missed the 2025-26 season recovering from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in the 2025 NBA Finals.

Ahead of the new year, Barkley believes his return will make the Pacers an excellent team. Bill Simmons brought up Indiana and the former one-time MVP did not hesitate.

“Indiana’s going to be really good,” Barkley said. “Indiana’s going to be one of my sleepers.”

“Indiana’s going to be really good,” Barkley said. “Indiana’s going to be one of my sleepers.”

The team added Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. this offseason. In the previous campaign, the franchise also traded for Ivica Zubac, a new frontcourt star to pair next to Haliburton.