You can run from it. You can hide from it. But NBA ratings discourse is inevitable.

That maxim might be even more true when speaking in the context of Charles Barkley. And during Thursday night’s edition of Inside the NBA, the Chuckster took aim at comments that Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick made about NBA ratings last month.

holy shit charles barkley just went IN on JJ Redick😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/QZZ94hTSJP

— KingCharge (@KingCharge) January 3, 2025

“He said something about, ‘What’re the reasons people ain’t watching this crappy product we got,’ like we out there jacking up a hundred threes a night,” Barkley began. “JJ, you come for the king you better not miss, because I can get you brother. Remember I got your Lakers’ games. You can’t hide them flaws they got. You just a dead man walking. They got rid of Frank Vogel who did a good job. They got rid of Darvin Ham who did a good job. You came out there thinking you were gonna change things with that same ugly girl you went on a date with.”

At this point, Inside host Ernie Johnson had to interject in an attempt to get back to the highlight he was supposed to be reading. But that only went so far with Chuck, who insisted on continuing his rant.

“He came in there thinking, ‘I can make this thing work.’ Hell you can! Put some makeup on that pig! The Lakers stink, man,” Barkley concluded.

Barkley has been critical all year long about the quality of the NBA product, especially when it comes to the amount of three point shots attempted. His criticism, at least in part, sparked a several minute rant by Redick last month where he attacked NBA broadcasters for not painting the league in a positive light.

Clearly, Barkley is not one to go down without a fight. And now this beef has been stepped up a notch.

Watch out for March 6th, the next time the Lakers are scheduled for a Thursday night TNT game with Barkley in the studio.

[Inside the NBA]