Charles Barkley warms up on the driving rage on Thursday, July 10, 2025 at Edgewood Tahoe golf course ahead of the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament. Jim Krajewski/RGJ / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Charles Barkley Trolls Lakers Star LeBron James' Latest Injury

Originally posted on Los Angeles Lakers on SI
By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Nov 3, 2025 2:30 PM ET

Hall of Fame former NBA power forward Charles Barkley, now an ESPN analyst, has mightily trolled 21-time All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers power forward LeBron James for his latest injury.

During a new interview on "The Dan Patrick Show," Barkley spoke at length about James' sciatica injury afflicting the right side of his body and his lower back.

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Barkley and Patrick also addressed Barkley's transition to the Worldwide Leader after spending over two decades working as an Emmy-winning broadcaster for TNT, the FBI indictments surrounding multiple current NBA figures, and the exciting elements of the new season.

“He's just old," Barkley joked. "His back hurts. All old people’s backs hurt, Dan. All old people’s backs hurt. You can you can dress it up like a sciatica. You can come up with all these medical terms. LeBron is old.”

James has missed the entire preseason and will be on the shelf for the eighth straight game to tip off the regular season on Monday night.

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The Lakers have hardly missed a beat without him. LA has gone 5-2, despite All-NBA First Team star guard Luka Doncic also having sat out three games, and the Lakers being without key reserves Marcus Smart, Gabe Vincent and Jaxson Hayes for multiple night. Center Deandre Ayton has missed the last game-and-a-half with back spasms. And yet Los Angeles keeps on winning.

The Rise of Reaves

Even when Doncic sits, guard Austin Reaves continues to make a case for a maximum contract should he decline his player option and hit free agency next summer. That said, Barkley is not convinced Reaves can ever be a No. 1 option for a team. Still, playing next to Doncic and eventually LeBron James, he doesn't have to do that night-to-night with the Lakers.

"Teams are gonna start making adjustments, so his 40 is gonna come down to 25 or more, cause I don't think he's that type of guy who's going to get 40 a night," Barkley said of Reaves' scoring averages. "He's a really good player, but also, to go out there and get 40 a night is really hard... because nobody's ever averaged 40 points in the NBA other than probably Wilt Chamberlain back in the day."