Charles Barkley Claims a Lakers Win Against the Nuggets Would Be His ‘Worst Nightmare’ On Inside the NBA

Charles Barkley has never been shy about his feelings on the Lakers, and Saturday night, that came back to bite him.

Charles Barkley Is Still Rooting Against the Lakers

Ahead of Los Angeles’s high-stakes home matchup against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, March 14, Barkley delivered one of his most memorable takes of the season during the Inside the NBA pregame show.

With the game serving as a direct Western Conference seeding tiebreaker at Crypto.com Arena, Chuck made no secret of which outcome he was hoping for.

Chuck:

“My worst nightmare is the Lakers winning tonight and I have to listen to all the crap on Monday on all the talk shows how the Lakers are contenders. Please don’t let em win. I’mma be nail biting all night tonight” pic.twitter.com/Nu4k2EV5fX

— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) March 15, 2026

“My worst nightmare is the Lakers winning tonight, and I have to listen to all the crap on Monday on all the talk shows on how the Lakers are contenders,” Barkley said. “Please don’t let em win. I’mma be nail-biting all night tonight.”

It turned out to be a very long night for Chuck. The Lakers outlasted the Nuggets 127-125 in overtime in a game that had everything, handing Barkley exactly the nightmare scenario he feared. Los Angeles won the season series and picked up a pivotal tiebreaker in the Western Conference standings, moving to 42-25 on the season.

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The comments were the latest chapter in Barkley’s running commentary on the Lakers all season. The Hall of Famer previously called Los Angeles “not a good team” on the same broadcast and joked that the panel was “contractually obligated” to discuss them every night. His co-host, Shaquille O’Neal, pushed back consistently, but Barkley held his position game after game.

Saturday’s contest gave him every reason to believe he might finally get his wish. The Nuggets, who came in at 41-26 and fifth in the West, came storming back in the third quarter after trailing by double digits at halftime, outscoring the Lakers 37-26 in the period to tie the game at 87-87 heading into the fourth.

Both Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić had logged triple-doubles through three quarters, with Jokić finishing with 24 points, 16 rebounds, and 14 assists by the end of the third, and Dončić matching him with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. The two best players on the floor were locked in, the game was deadlocked, and it had the feel of something that would go deep into the night.

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For Los Angeles, the win was the latest statement in a strong stretch of basketball. Dončić came in leading the NBA in scoring at 32.8 points per game and had just dropped 51 points against the Bulls on Thursday.

LeBron James returned from injury just two days prior and was easing back into a lineup that had been playing well without him. Austin Reaves has also been a consistent force all season at 24.0 points per game.