Luka Doncic is brutally honest, he says that he would ‘cook’ Charles Barkley in his prime
After the Lakers’ 125-122 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Luka Dončić was doing a side interview with ESPN. Inside NBA analyst Charles Barkley’s birthday was February 20, and ESPN made a big deal last night to highlight Barkley’s birthday.
ESPN sideline reporter Jorge Sedano asked Doncic if Barkley and Doncic were in their prime, so Doncic would “cook” Barkley. Dončić jokingly replied:
“I would cook him for sure. I think there will be a lot of talking between us… I think it will be a lot of fun.”
While Doncic’s remark was in good birthday fun, it may have been a precursor to Barkley’s comments that the Lakers are not champions and would not beat the Thunder or the top teams in the West.
“It depends on the seed, because if they’re six, seven or eight years old and they have to play Denver, Houston or OKC, they’re not going to beat those teams. I’m not even sure they can beat San Antonio,” Barkley said after the interview.
This led to short answer from Lakers guard Austin Reaveswho was ready to be interviewed by the Inside the NBA crew after the win.
Reeves replied, “Yeah, I’ve heard a little bit. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.”
Nevertheless, a hypothetical match between Doncic and Barkley would certainly be interesting. Since it was compiled in 2018. Doncic proved to be one of the best one-on-one shooters in the NBA. He has a penchant for shooting outrageous shots and hitting threes at high volume. He also plays at his own pace, is rarely rushed and uses his strength to effortlessly drive to the basket and even get to the foul line.
But Barkley in his prime was an anomaly. A 6’4″ forward, Barkley was a force under the basket and gave his team more life on the offensive end by grabbing a lot of rebounds. He was also a skilled shooter with a tremendous back-to-the-basket game and could hit mid-range shots when needed on offense.
The Lakers host the Boston Celtics on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on NBC and the Peacock.
2026-02-21 16:56:00
