“LeBron’s got to come after AD… We should not be asking a 38-year-old to be the best player on his team”- Charles Barkley believes LA Lakers' LeBron James needs to challenge Anthony Davis to up his game
NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley did not hold back against the LA Lakers following their 103-97 loss versus the LA Clippers on Thursday. Barkley, in particular, called out Lakers star big man Anthony Davis for not stepping up to carry the team.
Barkley believes Davis, who is aged 29 and in his prime, needs to stop relying too much on 38-year-old superstar teammate LeBron James. He said James could no longer carry a team at this stage of his career. Barkley likened their current situation to the transition between former Lakers legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson:
“I got to challenge LeBron. He’s got to come after AD like, 'Yo man, I am too old to carry this team. You should be the man.’ Like the transition from Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) to Magic (Johnson).”
“I got to challenge LeBron. He’s got to come after AD... We should not be asking a 38-year old guy to be the best player on his team.”
Chuck on the Lakers https://t.co/ibFV6TuKek
Barkley then added that no player in any sport should be tasked with carrying a team at the age of 38 or older:
“Like LeBron at this stage, he’s the greatest of this generation. One of the best ever. But at his age, we should not be asking a 38-year-old guy to be the best player on his team. In no sport should a guy that age , especially when you have Anthony Davis."
Barkley then went on to discuss how big of a disappointment Anthony Davis has become and even claimed Davis is starting to become irrelevant:
“When I said five or six years ago, I said ‘Anthony Davis, I think he’s gonna be the best basketball player in the world.' I said that on one of our shows way back. This is when he was still in New Orleans. He’s not even mentioned anymore.”
Barkley then gave a few examples of young stars who have surpassed Davis in most MVP betting odds and predictions:
“We showed five guys the other night for MVP and Kenny, you said, 'Well, what about Jayson Tatum?’ And we were like, ‘Well yeah, Jayson Tatum should probably be in there.’
"Now after last night, I saw Zion (Williamson) went from 70-to-1 to 15-to-1. We don’t even talk about Anthony Davis like that anymore.”
Finally, Barkley even said that LeBron James should consider calling Anthony Davis out publicly to motivate him:
“At some point LeBron, it doesn’t matter what you do privately. I think, sometimes, if you’re the leader, you have to challenge players on your team.
"And I would love to see LeBron say. ‘Hey man, I’m past my prime. I’m still gonna play good basketball. But as part of being the man, you have to have that responsibility.’”
Despite the criticism, Anthony Davis finished Thursday night’s game with 25 points and eight rebounds on 56.3% shooting. His 25 points were the second most in the game, behind only teammate Lonnie Walker IV and more than LeBron James' 20.
However, given his talent level and the fact that he is in his prime, it is still reasonable to expect much more from Davis.
LA Lakers’ nightmare start to the season
Following their loss to the LA Clippers in their home opener, the LA Lakers are now 0-2 to start the season. But what is more concerning is the team’s 3-point shooting after two games. After shooting just 25% (10 of 40) from deep in their first game versus the Golden State Warriors, LA somehow shot even worse versus the Clippers.
The Lakers shot just 20% (9 of 45) against the Clippers. This brought their 3-point shooting total to an atrocious 19 of 85 (22.4%) after two games.
This horrendous shooting comes after the Lakers finished last season ranked 22nd with a 34.7% 3-point shooting percentage. But the worst part is that there doesn’t appear to be any light at the end of the tunnel for the Lakers.
The team just doesn’t have enough shooters and even lost their most reliable shooter from last season, Malik Monk, to the Sacramento Kings. So it looks like the LA Lakers are going to have to make some moves if they hope to be competitive this season.