Amid a three-game losing streak, Charles Barkley’s opinion on the Lakers is gaining credibility. Despite the formation of the Big 3 of LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Luka Doncic, the franchise is struggling to establish a winning identity, primarily when the latter is being blamed for failing to inspire his team.

“I get sick of people talking about they are contenders,” Barkley was blunt with his assessment of the Lakers. “I’ve been saying it for months. The Lakers are not a good team. And I just think it’s funny how the media has turned on Luka; everything’s Luka’s fault now. I find that hilarious. And I guess we’re contractually obligated to talk about them every day like they do on our network.

“Because y’all thought they were going to be good. And they are going to be a marquee franchise for another 20 games. Then the nightmare is going to be over.”

Charles Barkley pointed out that the Lakers often lack athleticism and aren’t good enough defensively to be called contenders. Chuck even pointed it out last week when star Austin Reaves was waiting to speak on Inside the NBA. “No disrespect. They’re not championship contenders. They may be able to win a round,” Barkley said bluntly. “I know the guys going to go on TV because, you know, they throw them stats out there…When those three guys play together, they still ain’t going to [contend],”

AR heard it all, but remained calm and composed in his reaction. “Yeah, I heard a little bit. Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion,” he said calmly. The Lakers this season have an 11-16 record against teams above .500, with a -7.6 point differential and 34% three-point shooting. So, for any team to be champions or even contenders, these numbers and stats back Charles Barkley’s analysis.

His criticism of the Lakers‘ coverage is not new. Two years ago, when the show was on TNT, Chuck had a problem with ESPN hyping the Lakers and Warriors despite them being ninth and 10th place in the Western Conference standings, respectively. “The idiots on the other network keep talking about the Lakers and the Warriors like they have a chance.”

Currently, with a 34-24 record, they are sixth in the standings, 10.5 games behind the reigning champions, the OKC Thunder. The year with the Big 3 is not producing the results that many envisioned. Luka Doncic shoulders most of the blame.

Luka Doncic woes

Despite leading the league in points, the Lakers have mediocre results. With a buzzer-beating loss to the Magic and the Suns, and a blowout defeat to the Celtics, the criticism of Luka is high. Constantly arguing with the referees and being a touch slow on defensive duties are some habits that fans and analysts have frequently called out.

ESPN’s Jay Williams questioned Doncic’s impact despite his production. “I think Luka is one of the most talented players I have seen in the history of the game. But I think he has losing habits. I think he has bad habits.”

Jay Williams’ critique cuts deeper than surface-level stats — he’s highlighting a cultural disconnect between individual brilliance and team success.

While Luka’s scoring dominance is undeniable, Williams implies that leadership isn’t measured in points per game, but in contagious accountability, the kind that elevates teammates, calms chaos, and turns close losses into wins.

The real issue isn’t Luka’s talent; it’s whether he’s willing to redefine his role beyond scorer to become the anchor this Lakers team desperately needs.

Despite losing weight in the off-season, defensively, this has been the worst season of his career. His current individual defensive rating of 115 is the lowest in his career.

Add to this the Lakers being 24th in defensive rating and, most importantly, the net rating of Doncic, Reaves, and LeBron James remains -8.4.

The synergy among them remains an issue, but as Charles Barkley pointed out, Luka Doncic is not the only one to be blamed.