Anthony Davis fires back at Charles Barkley over unflattering nickname

Dec 18, 2020; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) against the Phoenix Suns during a preseason game at Phoenix Suns Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Davis is getting into it with his fellow NBA 75 member.

The Los Angeles Lakers star Davis spoke to the LA Times’ Broderick Turner in an interview this week. In the interview, Davis hit back at the pejorative nickname given to him by TNT’s Charles Barkley — “Street Clothes,” a reference to Davis often being hurt and in street clothes on the bench.

“I don’t care what he says,” Davis said about Barkley. “People say stuff for ratings. They got to push their show, push their blog, push their podcast, whatever it is. So, people got to say something to bring in viewers.

“It is what it is,” Davis added. “I go out there and play basketball and let them do their job. My job is to hoop. Their job is to talk about me.”

Turner, the one who brought up Barkley’s barb in the first place, noted that Davis was “clearly stung” by the subject, his jaw tightening and his smile disappearing. You can read their full interview here.

Name-calling aside, Barkley raises a fair point about Davis’ proneness to injury. Davis has averaged just 60 games played per season throughout his career and has missed 78 combined games over the last two seasons alone. The eight-time All-Star’s penchant for frequent and dramatic exits to the locker room after seemingly minor incidents of contact do not help his reputation either.

Additionally, Davis is hardly being singled out as Barkley loves handing out savage nicknames to underachieving NBA stars (from Kyrie Irving to Paul George). If Davis wants to shut Barkley up here, the solution is simple — work on his durability and start playing in more games.