
Kenyon Martin is not a believer in the Los Angeles Lakers heading into the playoffs.
The retired former NBA All-Star Martin made waves this week with his comments about the Lakers on Gilbert Arenas’ “Gil’s Arena” show. Martin believes that the Lakers are not going anywhere this year because they rely on too many white players.
“Y’all was gonna lose first round either way it go,” said Martin of the Lakers. “Y’all play four white boys, you ain’t gonna beat nobody. I wanna know what team has been successful with that many [white players] on one roster.”
Here is the full video of Martin’s remarks.
.@KenyonMartinSr on the Lakers BIGGEST issue heading into the playoffs
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) April 8, 2026
“Y’all play 4 white boys you ain’t gonna beat nobody” pic.twitter.com/DnsHMXx4Rx
Martin was referring to Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Luke Kennard, and Jake LaRavia. Of course, the bigger problem for the Lakers right now is that Doncic and Reaves (who combined to average almost 60 points a game this season) are both in the middle of extended injury absences and might not play at all in the postseason.
Meanwhile, Martin’s suggestion that racial composition alone affects the quality of a team is a problematic take at best. But this is far from the first time that Martin has made some questionable comments related to race.
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