Charles Barkley Rants About ‘Play-In Teams’ Like Warriors, Lakers Receiving Excessive Coverage

“Ain’t nobody worried about the Lakers or Warriors in the West.”

The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers remain in the NBA’s spotlight despite neither team being near the top of the Western Conference standings, and Charles Barkley is sick of it.

On Thursday, Barkley expressed his frustration about the media’s unrelenting coverage of the Warriors and Lakers despite both underperforming teams currently being on track for the league’s play-in tournament. 

“I’m so sick of these fools on other networks talking about the Lakers and the Warriors. We don’t brag about any other play-in teams do we? I understand Steph [Curry] is great and LeBron [James] is great, ain’t nobody worried about the Lakers and the Warriors in the West,” said Barkley. 

Chuck: "Ain't nobody worried about the Lakers and the Warriors in the West." 😅 pic.twitter.com/iTjGIh63uK

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 1, 2024

Barkley made clear that he was entirely disinterested in discussing the recent successful spells from Golden State and Los Angeles, as he doesn’t consider either team to be a threat in the playoffs.

“These teams in the West are not worried about the Lakers and the Warriors. We’ve been kissing these guys’ ass so much. We don’t brag about the No. 9 team in the East. They ain’t got no chance. The Lakers and the Warriors, they’re on a little spell, they’re doing well, LeBron was amazing last night. But they’re not going to beat those teams up top... so stop juicing them up,” he added.

Entering Thursday’s slate, Los Angeles (32-28) sits ninth in the West, while Golden State (30-27) is just behind in 10th. Though Barkley nodded to their improved play of late, he still doesn’t think they pose a threat to the top teams in the conference. 

Unfortunately for Barkley, so long as James and Curry remain faces of the league, it’s unlikely the relentless media coverage of the Lakers and Warriors will cease.