What Did Luka Doncic Get For Charles Barkley's Birthday? Trash Talk, Of Course

On Friday, Charles Barkley blew the candles on his 63rd birthday. Just as Turner Sports did for several years with Barkley in their fold, ESPN got the Chuckster some gifts that weren’t exactly peachy.

After the battle of LA came to a close at Crypto.com Arena, with the Lakers defeating the Clippers 125-122, ESPN sideline reporter Jorge Sedano caught up with Luka Doncic to ask a pointed question. “Today’s Charles Barkley’s birthday,” Sedano said. “If you were playing Charles in his prime, how would you cook him?”

Without hesitation, Doncic replied, “I would cook him for sure.”

Doncic, who finished with 38 points, six rebounds, and 11 assists in the Lakers’ latest win, further speculated on this hypothetical one-on-one. “We would talk a lot. I think we both talk a lot of trash talk, so I think it would be very fun.”

That last part is not hard to imagine, as Barkley was one of the most prolific smack talkers in the history of the league. Despite having to look up at taller, more jacked up opponents, Sir Charles never backed down from verbal altercations. 

While Barkley’s motor mouth wasn’t always endearing to league officials, TV executives nevertheless took notice of his gift of gab; now, his career as an on-air analyst has spanned longer than his illustrious NBA career.

Doncic, though, would be able to hold his own as he is one of the more underrated trash talkers in the league today. Anyone who knows the context of the “smiling Luka” meme knows that Devin Booker and several other players have heard an earful from the Slovenian star over the years.

As for the actual basketball showdown itself? Barkley would probably exploit Doncic’s shortcomings on the defensive end by going to the post and backing him down. Of course, there’s a reason why Barkley was called “The Round Mound of Rebound,” so he’d have an edge in that department too.

When it comes to the perimeter, though, Doncic would indeed do some “cooking” as his extremely deep bag of shot-making skills has claimed countless victims. While Doncic doesn’t have dazzling speed, his deceptive footwork and handles might make even a Basketball Hall of Famer bite the dust.

Still, Doncic made it clear that his trash talk was all in good fun. Looking into the camera at the end of his interview with Sedano, the Lakers star put up a thumbs up and said, “Happy birthday, Charles!”