The Inside the NBA crew brought their usual comedy and shenanigans to the show’s highly anticipated ESPN debut on Wednesday night, and they also showed that they’re not afraid to be critical of NBA players and teams. And Deandre Ayton was at the top of the list to be called out.

Charles Barkley — who admitted he was nervous for the ESPN debut — and Shaquille O’Neal didn’t hold back with their feelings about the effort from the new Los Angeles Lakers center in Tuesday night’s 119-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Ayton had 10 points, six rebounds, zero assists, one block, and four turnovers over 34 minutes played in his Lakers debut after signing a two-year contract with Los Angeles over the offseason. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft is being counted on to be a key piece alongside stars Luka Dončić and LeBron James (currently out with sciatica).

Barkley and O’Neal made it clear that Ayton needs to be much better for the Lakers to make a leap this season.

Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal call out Lakers big man Deandre Ayton. 🏀🎙️ #NBA pic.twitter.com/Isse5b5EPP

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 22, 2025

“If Deandre Ayton does not play great, the Lakers ain’t going to beat the top teams in the West,” Barkley said.

Inside the NBA host Ernie Johnson asked, “Has he ever played great?”

“What other changes did they make?” Barkley responded.

“I know, but I’m just saying, has he ever been described as a great player?” Johnson questioned.

“He’s not, but he’s got to play well, really well for the Lakers,” Barkley said.

“Okay, I want you to just step that back just a touch,” Johnson said. “He’s got to be solid.”

O’Neal then took things a step further and asked the camera to focus on him while he delivered a message to Ayton.

“Put the camera here,” O’Neal, a former Lakers superstar center, demanded. “Listen, Deandre. That performance you had yesterday (O’Neal makes a thumbs-down motion)? I need you to step it up, my boy. You got to do three things. You got to rebound, and you got to block shots, and you got to dominate. The pressure is not on you. You’re playing with two great players that get doubled a lot. When they make the little bounce pass, catch it, and throw it down. You’re not getting doubled. You have a small guy guarding you in the post, you turn around and shoot a fadeaway, that’s not going to get it done. We need you, brother. We need to step up. That performance you had yesterday? That performance you had yesterday (thumbs-down motion again)? That was terrible. Come on, Deandre. You got to step up.”

“Shaq, you know what bothered me about it, too?” Barkley responded. “He should’ve been on fire last night. With no LeBron, he should’ve said, ‘Oh, I’m going to get LeBron’s shots tonight.’ That’s the only thing I was watching… He should be a 20 (points)-10 (rebounds) guy without LeBron. Easily.”

“I agree,” O”Neal said.

“Without LeBron, he should be about a 25 (points per game) guy,” Barkley expanded. “Let me tell you something. You talk about when they put that little munchkin on him, and he shot a fadeaway. When I watched that damn boy [Houston Rockets center Alperen Şengün] last night, [the Oklahoma City Thunder] were putting little (Alex) Caruso on him. [Şengün] says, ‘Ya’ll need a bigger damn boat.’ Because Şengün was just like, ‘Ya’ll better get this little man off of me before I kill him.’” It was beautiful to watch, because, Shaq, you know me and you be like, we can talk Popeyes chicken, fried chicken, barbecue chicken, but somebody put a little man on me, I’m going to say, ‘Yo, man. You better get this little dude off me.’”

“And, Ayton, he’s the only difference the Lakers got, Ernie,” Barkley continued.”Last year in the playoffs, they couldn’t rebound. So, he’s the guy.”

“He has to change his game, though,” Kenny Smith responded.

“All he’s got to do is be big, Kenny,” Barkley said.

“But his game, he likes to pick and pop, he likes to step out on the post, and shoot midrange,” Smith said.

“That’s not what the Lakers need,” Barkley said.

The Inside the NBA crew already had a lot to say about Deandre Ayton after one game, and you can be sure this will be a topic that will be revisited on the show as the season goes on. Maybe even next Wednesday, when the Lakers play the Minnesota Timberwolves on ESPN during a night that includes Inside the NBA on the schedule.