Charles Barkley was tired of waiting.
Following the Lakers’ 112-105 Game 3 loss to the Nuggets Thursday night — which sunk Los Angeles to a 3-0 first-round series hole — Barkley expressed displeasure with how long it took LeBron James to get to his postgame media availability.
“Are we just gonna stay on TV until LeBron comes out the shower? Because you know, we got stuff to do,” Barkley said on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” show after the game. “It’s 1:19 [a.m. ET]. Are we just gonna sit here until LeBron — LeBron, get your ass out the shower.”
James finished with 26 points, nine assists and six rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Lakers — who were swept by the Nuggets in last year’s Western Conference finals — to a much-needed Game 3 win.
Thursday’s loss marked the 11th straight game the Lakers have dropped to the Nuggets.
Barkley poked fun at the Lakers’ seemingly-imminent elimination, bringing out a broom to the set and sweeping the floor.
Charles Barkley didn’t pull any punches when discussing the Lakers on TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’ following the team’s Game 3 loss to the Nuggets on April 25, 2024. @awfulannouncing/X Explore More
He certainly didn’t pull any punches.
“I just wanna say, all you people who’ve been kissing up to the Lakers and the Warriors all year, talking about, ‘They’re gonna make a run,'” Barkley said. “You know where they’re gonna run their ass to? The Bahamas, Sunday morning. I told y’all all along.
“The Lakers and the Warriors both stink. So, stop bragging on them.”
LeBron James and the Lakers fell into an 3-0 hole to the Nuggets in their first-round clash. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con Barkley also referred to James as “little king’, dinging his longtime nickname of “King James”.
For his own part, James has remained positive — when he finally got out of the shower.
“It’s one game at a time at this point,” James said postgame. “… As long as you still have life, then you always have belief, you play until the wheels fall off. That’s what it’s always about for me as a mindset.”
