“The Lakers stink and everybody still talking about them” - Charles Barkley says he’s sick of talking about the LA Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets

This season has not gone to plan for either the Brooklyn Nets or the Los Angeles Lakers, with much of their respective dysfunction making headlines.

NBA Hall-of-Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley is officially tired of talking about the two former pre-season favorites to make this year’s NBA Finals.

During a call-in interview on “The Rich Eisen Show,” Barkley was asked about Kevin Durant and James Harden's relationship. To which he responded almost immediately with a rant about both the Nets and Lakers continuously being in the spotlight.

“I'll get sick of talking about them. I don't know who I get more sick of talking about the Nets or the Lakers. The Lakers stink, and everybody still talking about them every day like they legitimate, and they aren't. They stink. But listen, the Nets, James Harden had enough. He said, like yo, I didn't sign up for all this stupidity. I'm gonna keep it moving, but it's gonna be must-see TV the next two to three months about Philly, how that thing's gonna work out in Brooklyn. It’s going to be fun. My job is going to be fun.”

What Barkley said does have some merit, the Lakers and the Nets have indeed been two of the most talked-about teams this season. They have all the ingredients of a great soap opera, with star talent in LeBron James and Kevin Durant respectively, along with plenty of dysfunction with the likes of Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook.

Is Barkley right about the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets

Brooklyn Nets v Los Angeles Lakers

Both the Los Angeles Lakers (27-31) and Brooklyn Nets (31-28) have severally underperformed this season. Many thought that the two teams might face off against each other in the NBA Finals, and so far, that does not look likely given both teams' performances throughout the campaign.

The Lakers have looked like an aging and passive team, showing very little vigor on either end of the court. So far, the move for Westbrook has not paid off, and with Anthony Davis’ perennial injury problems not letting up, the Lakers currently find themselves in ninth place in the Western Conference rankings.

The Nets started off the season hot, mainly led by Durant playing at an MVP-caliber level during the first month and a half of the season. However, soon issues began to come up surrounding Harden's lack of production and physical condition, as well as Irving's unwillingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This, coupled with Durant's injury struggles, is why the Nets currently sit eighth in the Western Conference standings.

All the drama surrounding both teams has provided great headlines for the NBA media. As a member of said media, Barkley probably loathes talking about the two franchises by now. One imagines that analysts such as him would like to cover the NBA teams who are seriously contending for an NBA title this year

But because both the LA Lakers and Brooklyn Nets are based in two of the biggest markets in the league, the fanfare seemingly never ends.