Charles Barkley calls LA Clippers 'scariest team in the West'

Outside of his incredible NBA career, Charles Barkley is also known for his basketball takes whenever he goes live on TNT's "NBA on TNT."

During Thursday night's broadcast, Barkley picked the LA Clippers as the team to be feared the most in the Western Conference. This was his response when he thought of a team that could challenge the Denver Nuggets, as per AZCentral's Duane Rankin.

The LA Clippers have significantly improved since losing six straight ball games upon the acquisition of James Harden. After being 3-7 to start the season, they now have a 21-12 record and are fourth in the Western Conference standings. Their recent stretch of excellent basketball is a sign of the unit figuring things out after a rocky start.

With that said, here's what Charles Barkley had to say about the Clippers:

"The scariest team in the West is the Los Angeles Clippers," Barkley said. "Kawhi Leonard is amazing. If he's healthy, he's one of the five best basketball players in the world. Going back to last year ... if he didn't get hurt, they would've beat the Suns. If you go back and look, he's playing as well as anybody in basketball right now."

From Barkley's comments, he considers the Clippers as a serious threat against the Denver Nuggets in coming out of the West. Led by Kawhi Leonard, the LA Clippers are playing great basketball with the pieces starting to fit in. With the excellent production of Paul George and James Harden, along with Russell Westbrook's bench production, this team has a shot to go far.

Interestingly, Charles Barkley went back and recalled when Kawhi Leonard got hurt in the 2023 playoff series against the Suns. He argued that if he didn't get hurt in that series, the Clippers would've beaten Phoenix to advance to the Semifinal round.

---

Charles Barkley doesn't consider the LA Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns as threats to the Denver Nuggets

During the same TNT broadcast, Charles Barkley didn't mince words when it came to other teams in the Western Conference. When it came to the Phoenix Suns, the LA Lakers, and the Minnesota Timberwolves, he didn't consider them as threats to the Denver Nuggets. Here's what he had to say:

"The Lakers have been a huge disappointment," Barkley said. "My suns have been a huge disappointment. I don't believe in Minnesota. ... They've lost two in a row, I don't believe in them."

From Barkley's comments, he simply considers the Lakers and Suns as "disappointing." Meanwhile, he doesn't believe in the Timberwolves at this point, considering they still have a lot to prove in the postseason.

The legendary Suns forward can be a tough customer when it comes to convincing him of a player or a team's skill set and capabilities. As of now, he sees the Clippers and the Nuggets as the two elite teams in the Western Conference.