Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers are heading into a new season with plenty of questions. LeBron James is gone, the roster around Doncic has been reshaped, and no one quite knows what this version of the Lakers will look like. Charles Barkley, though, thinks that the Lakers are already as good as, or even better than, the Mavericks roster he took to the 2024 NBA Finals. A take that is now stirring quite the debate.
“I really want to see the Lakers do well,” Barkley said to Bill Simmons. “First of all, I’m a big Luka fan, a big Austin Reaves fan. I think they’re gonna be better than people realize. Luka and Kyrie [Irving] took the Mavs to the Finals, come on, man. This team is probably better; this team is probably just as good as that team.”
Now, former Dallas Mavericks guard Theo Pinson, who shared the locker room with Luka Doncic from 2021 to 2023, fired back.
On the To The Baha podcast, he said, “So what he’s saying is this team with Kyrie Irving, with this team with the Lakers that he has right now, as they’re constructed, is better than the Dallas team that went to the Finals.”
Pinson added, “Boy, stop. F*** is you talking about? Come on, Charles. We was just advocating for you being a big-time player and sh**. They paying you on TNT to say sh** like that. Oh, he ain’t on TNT no more. ESPN. They paying you on ESPN to say sh** like that?”
Now, while Barkley did make that comparison, he made it clear in the same podcast, that he doesn’t think that the Lakers are going to win the championship.
“They’re going to be fine, I think,” Barkley said. “Are they gonna win the championship? I don’t think they’re going to win the championship. But the league is better when the Celtics, the Lakers, and the Knicks are good teams,” he added.
Now, the entire comparison goes back to the 2023-2024 Mavericks, the team Doncic led to the 2024 NBA Finals. Dallas won 13 playoff games that postseason, and Doncic had Kyrie Irving alongside him, while P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford also played important roles during the playoff run.
The Lakers have since built a different supporting cast after LeBron James’ departure, around Doncic and Austin Reaves. Walker Kessler has been added, and he gives the Lakers a rim-protecting center. Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, and Sandro Mamukelashvili are also part of the new-look group.
The Lakers also have players like Bronny James, Cameron Carr, and Adou Thiero who have no playoff experience. So, right now, the Lakers and Luka Doncic have a major responsibility entering the 2026-27 season. And Doncic seems ready for everything.
Luka Doncic makes his ambitions clear
No matter the clouds of uncertainty that people seem to paint, Luka Doncic seems confident about the upcoming season. In a recent conversation with PlayersTribune, he made that clear.
“I feel like I’ve been the leader since I got here. I felt like the team was missing someone to step up, and I knew I had to take that responsibility. We want to win a championship, and that remains the goal. We have the talent and the pieces. Now we have to put it together and go get it.”
But then, let’s not forget the Western Conference remains difficult to navigate. The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder appear near the top of the race. That crowded picture could help the Lakers. With bigger favorites drawing the attention, Doncic and his teammates may have room to surprise people.