Professional basketball analyst Charles Barkley has come to the defense of Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic amidst criticism he faced following the NBA Finals.
Speaking on The Bill Simmons podcast, Barkley expressed his support for Doncic, stating, “You see how quickly they turned on Luka in The Finals? Luka was the only reason they were in The Finals. And then after Game 1 and Game 2, they’re like ‘Luka can’t play any defense, he’s the reason the Celtics are up 2-0, 3-0.’ I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, he’s the only reason they’re in The Finals.’”
Simmons, a prominent Celtics fan, admitted, “I was terrified when he had the ball or took a shot. Like he is a 10 out of 10 when you’re rooting against his team, I’m terrified of him the whole time. I do think he needs to get in better shape on one hand, but on the other hand, maybe this is the right shape for him. Because he’s so big he can bully-ball everybody.”
Barkley chimed in, saying, “Well, I think he needs to get in better shape but he’s the only reason, no disrespect to Kyrie Irving, but he’s the reason they were in The Finals. I love how quick these talking heads turn on these players. The week before, we were bragging ‘Hey man, this Luka Doncic, is he the next great player in the NBA?’… And then when the Celtics had a much better team go up 3-0, ‘Luka don’t play any defense, he’s the reason’… Y’all went from ‘He’s the second reincarnation of [Larry] Bird and somebody else combined’ but that’s the thing I hate about our business. It’s a lot of guys out there that turn quickly.”
Luka is expected to have a lot to prove in the upcoming season, according to NBA media.
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