Austin Reaves Reacts to Charles Barkley's Brutal Comments About the Lakers

On Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers played their first game since the NBA All-Star break, playing host to the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena, with Luka Doncic and company coming out on top.

Although the game was close down the stretch and could've gone either way, the Lakers were able to hold on and secure their 34th win of the 2025-26 NBA season.

After the game, the Inside the NBA crew discussed the Lakers getting the win at home against Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers. Charles Barkley was not impressed, as he believes neither team is going anywhere this season and will have early exits in the NBA playoffs.

Charles Barkley Rips Lakers & Clippers

Barkley, as per usual, didn't hold back his thoughts when asked if he had a takeaway from Friday's game in Los Angeles.

"Nothing. No, neither one of these teams are any good," Barkley said of the Lakers and Clippers. "No disrespect."

"They maybe can win a round. I'm not going to get there and say just because they won, they beat a mediocre Clippers team. And I know the guy's going to go on TV because they throw them stats out there. Them three guys play together. ... It depends on the seeding now.

"Because if they're six, seven, and eight, and they have to play Denver [Nuggets], Houston [Rockets], or OKC [Thunder], they're not going to beat those teams. They can't beat San Antonio [Spurs]. I do not think they can beat the Rockets."

Little did Barkley know that Lakers star Austin Reaves, who dropped 29 points on the Clippers, was listening to the NBA legend's rant on a headset while waiting to be interviewed.

Ernie Johnson asked Austin Reaves for a Reaction to Barkley's Comments

Austin Reaves Los Angeles Lakers — Feb 20, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) is escorted by John Stirn after the game against the LA Clippers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"That's interesting fodder, as Austin Reeves has the headset on in Los Angeles," Johnson said of Barkley's rant. "And I don't know if you're able to hear the conversation that was just being had here. Did you, Austin?"

Reaves admitted he had heard what Barkley said about his team, but it didn't spark much of a reaction from the rising star, who kept his calm and cool demeanor in his response.

"Yeah, I heard a little bit," Reaves said. "Everybody's entitled to their own opinion."

Although the Lakers have shown flashes of brilliance at times during the 2025-26 campaign, the team does seem as if they are a tier below the elite teams in the Western Conference right now, so Barkley might be right on the money in his assessment.

However, anything can happen in the final stretch of the NBA regular season, especially if the Lakers can keep their stars healthy and motivated to prove their doubters wrong with 27 games left to be played before the start of the NBA playoffs on April 18.