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Charles Barkley called Kobe Bryant "the best player in the NBA" amid 2007 trade rumors
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- Charles Barkley called Kobe Bryant "the best player in the NBA" amid 2007 trade rumors
Charles Barkley was never shy about calling out just about everyone, including Kobe Bryant .
The two had a well-documented tension that culminated in 2006, after Barkley labeled Bryant selfish following his passive Game 7 performance against the Phoenix Suns .
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That said, Barkley also gave Bryant credit where it was due. For example, he marveled at his shot-making at the end of Game 6 of the 2010 Western Conference finals.
Barkley knew greatness when he saw it, and that was exactly what he thought of Bryant.
Barkley's praise for Bryant
As great as Bryant was from 2005 to 2007, the Lakers were barely a playoff team. They missed the 2005 postseason entirely and barely got in as the seventh seed in 2006 and 2007. The Phoenix Suns eliminated the Purple and Gold both times in the first round.
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But then again, nobody came close to Bryant individually. He averaged 35.4 points per game in 2005-06, the highest scoring average since Michael Jordan in 1986-87, and the second-highest over the past 40 years behind James Harden's 36.1 in 2018-19.
Besides the offensive brilliance, Kobe was also among the best defenders in his position. He made the All-Defensive First Team in eight out of nine seasons starting in 2003.
However, the Lakers' state during the post-Shaquille O'Neal era began to weigh on Bryant. He grew frustrated with the front office's ability to acquire help and publicly asked for a trade. The franchise entertained calls from the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons and a couple of other suitors, but Bryant remained with the team by the time the 2007-08 season tipped off.
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Barkley, who was already on "Inside the NBA" alongside Ernie Johnson, Magic Johnson and Kenny Smith, believed the Lakers should not just get rid of Bryant just because he wanted out. Instead, he insisted the team had to secure fair value in return for a player of his caliber.
"I think the reason why he's gotta go is because they might not get something if he opts out of his contact next summer," he said . "In a couple of summers, he can opt out of his deal. You can't let him go for nothing… You can't let the best player in the NBA, you can't let him go for nothing."
It was a striking declaration from the man who criticized Bryant just a year earlier. To Barkley's credit, he was never one to let personal history cloud his basketball judgment. Bryant was the best player in the world, and the Lakers owed it to themselves to treat him like it.
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Barkley never changed
While Barkley has always held Bryant in high regard, it's a different story with the Lakers. The 1993 NBA MVP made it a point to sneak in some jabs at the franchise every chance he got, even 19 years ago.
"We gotta stop talking about bad teams and start talking about good teams. We know the Lakers are going to stink. We knew the Lakers are going to stink going in," he quipped , as the show went to commercials.
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Fast forward nearly two decades, and Barkley is still going at the Lakers. When the Lakers sat at 11-15 under Darvin Ham a few seasons ago, he erupted on "Inside the NBA" and used the same jargon: "The Lakers stink."
When the Lakers struggled before their March resurgence in the 2025-26 season, Barkley went at the Purple and Gold like clockwork.
The irony here is hard to miss. The same man who couldn't stop taking shots at the Lakers was also the same guy who called the franchise's face the best player in the league.
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Then again, that just speaks to Barkley's objectivity as an NBA analyst.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
