The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now, having won their last seven games while beating top-tier opponents like the New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Houston Rockets (twice). The franchise is in a great groove with all core players healthy and locked into ensuring they do whatever they can to bring a title to LA this season.
Despite this success, the Lakers are being underestimated by people who write their success off as a result of just media hype around the biggest market team in the NBA, with LeBron James and Luka Doncic as its stars.
Two of the biggest naysayers have been Inside the NBA duo Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley, who ridiculed the Lakers during their last episode when LA picked up an impressive 127-125 win over the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets. This sort of negative analysis has prompted Fox Sports’ Nick Wright to slam the duo and question why their love for basketball on the ‘What’s Wright’ show.
“It might be the greatest sports TV show ever, Inside the NBA. It really might be. With that said, I wish this year it felt like they enjoyed basketball more than it feels like. That Lakers-Nuggets, before the game, Chuck said, ‘I hope the Lakers lose,’ because he was pre-emptively angry that talk shows would take the Lakers seriously. If they’re the 3 seed in what’s considered the tougher conference, are people allowed to take them a little seriously?”
“Then after the game, when they win with Austin making that unbelievable play and Luka hitting the game winner, and Shaq said ‘good teams don’t need that,’ like what are we doing? That was one of the best games of the year. Everybody was playing, nobody was sitting, it went to OT.”
“I wish there was more of that (excitement) from my favorite sports show ever. I am not talking s—. I would like what I’m saying to be in full context. But it’s kind of a bummer when it seems some of your favorite people to watch don’t like what they’re watching. I don’t love it.”
Barkley and O’Neal mocking the Lakers is almost inextricably linked to Inside the NBA. They’re also both known to be strong critics of most things in the modern NBA, and that’s something their fanbase has also known for years. At this point, Inside the NBA knows it’s catering to a large chunk of its audience, but it’s also leaving a much larger set of fans disillusioned with its takes on basketball.
The Lakers are in the middle of a fantastic stretch of basketball with a 123.2 offensive rating and 113.4 defensive rating. That objectively places them among the best teams in the NBA with a +9.8 net rating, which their 44-25 record for the No. 3 seed in the West also does. This has also been achieved with exciting play where it’s clear everyone is playing with effort on both ends and not letting ego get in the way of team success.
If there’s any iteration of the Lakers this season that deserves compliments, it’s the one we’ve seen over the last few weeks. Inside the NBA isn’t on-air as often for their takes to be as updated as they would be during their multiple shows in a week on TNT. When the show is coming in smaller doses, the negative feelings they put out linger for longer than they used to.
It’s unclear if Inside the NBA will ever return to its heyday, but if ESPN continues giving them limited airtime and they continue using the airtime the way they do, the show will not be the enjoyable, fun show that has been captivating fans for decades.
