“People Working in the Steel Mill Everyday..”: After Bashing Shaquille O’Neal for Taking Days Off, Millionaire Charles Barkley Incensed Over NBA Players

You might want to think twice before missing a day around Charles Barkley. The TNT analyst began with his good friend Shaquille O’Neal. Right after the All-Star break, the 60-year-old comically fired shots at The Big Diesel for not showing up. In the case of Shaq, the four-time NBA champion was sick. But recently, Barkley aimed at the NBA players who get paid all the money but still take days off in the name of rest.

During Barkley’s era, NBA players were expected to be present in all 82 games. That mentality was evident in the superstars. Notably, even in his last season, Michael Jordan played all 82 games for the Washington Wizards. Barkley himself had just six seasons where he played under 70 games in the regular season. However, as the game has progressed, the concept of old management has come to the front.

NBA players now take games off to manage the load their bodies take. This is generally observed in back-to-back games. It’s safe to say, the Hall of Famer is not a fan of the practice. While in conversation with Stephen A. Smith, Barkley absolutely ripped into the concept of load management.

Charles Barkley thinks load management is a big problem in the NBA

The Round Mound of The Rebound made an appearance on ESPN’s First Take besides Smith. The analysts asked the former Philadelphia 76ers star a question that has caused a massive debate in recent times. Is load management a big problem in the NBA? This set off a bomb that was Barkley. The 1991 Dream Team forward feels it is disrespectful to the fans when stars miss games under load management. According to him, fans pay a lot of money and they deserve the superstars that they paid for.

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He also compared them to workers in the steel mill or any ordinary jobs. Barkley said, “Wait a minute, you gonna make $70M and you can’t play basketball 3 or 4 days a week?’… They fly private. They got the best medical stuff ever created… People working in the steel mill every day, I’m pretty sure they tired too, but they go to work every day.”

If Barkley’s take seems terrible, the numbers say something else. Out of all the All-Stars this season, only two took part in all games, Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. In addition, last season there were just five players who played all 82 games, down from 42 back in 2001. Of course, the pace of the game has to be taken into consideration.

In the modern era, there are a lot more possessions compared to the 90s. Moreover, it is much more active on either end of the floor. But despite that, it should be the professional duty of the stars to play all games they can. In case of an injury, taking time off is understandable. But when it is done selectively, that doesn’t do justice to fans who spend their money to watch the best stars play.

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The blame falls on the front office as much as it does on the players. The practice of selecting games to sit out your stars shouldn’t be encouraged. The only probable way it can be curbed is if the NBA imposes certain restrictions. Do you support load management or do you think it is necessary?