Charles Barkley’s Joke About Bronny James Cracked TNT’s Staff Up

Barkley asked if James would start on the Lakers this year after the team continues its slide.
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After another up-and-down first half for the Lakers on Thursday night that preceded an eventual 132–111 loss to the Clippers, Charles Barkley posed a simple question to his Inside The NBA crew during the halftime show.

“Does Bronny start or come off the bench if he gets on this team this year?”

Bronny, of course, is the son of Lakers star LeBron James, who is currently in high school. LeBron recently mentioned that he wants to play with Bronny if he makes it to the NBA in the next few years.

Barkley’s comments come after the Lakers failed to make any trade deadline deals to improve a roster that has struggled mightily all season long and has failed to meet preseason expectations as one of the Western Conference’s top teams.

Following the loss to the Clippers on Thursday night, the Lakers are now 27–35 and in ninth place in the West. If the playoffs started today, they would be in the play-in tournament. However, Los Angeles is just 0.5 game ahead of New Orleans for and 1.5 games ahead of Portland for the ninth playoff spot.

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Mike McDaniel
MIKE MCDANIEL

Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.