The Los Angeles Lakers have already entered the season as one of the most high-profile teams, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Not that they have traded Davis for Luka Doncic, there is even more hope that they can make a deep run in the 2025 NBA playoffs.

However, Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is not convinced that the Lakers will be any better with Doncic (this year).

Barkley (via the NBA on TNT): “OKC is the team to beat. I don’t think the Lakers are better than the Mavs. I’m not sure they’re better than Memphis, I’m not sure they’re better than the Rockets… They’re not gonna be good defensively. It’s gonna be a really hard adjustment for Luka Doncic in my opinion… Luka’s never played without the ball. He’s probably gonna have the ball less than he’s had in his life… You just can’t put great players together and think it’s going to work.”

The Lakers will host Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors (on Thursday) in Los Angeles.

They enter play as the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a 29-19 record in 48 games.

Doncic has yet to make his debut for the team.

Via Marc Stein of The Stein Line: “Luka Dončić is targeting Monday against Utah for his Lakers debut, @TheSteinLine has learned.

He returned to 5-on-5 play in practice this week and is said to be progressing well in his ramp up from his left calf strain on Christmas.

More NBA from me: https://tinyurl.com/yrmzrx83“