Sir Charles loves his previous job as much as the current one. Since Stephen A. Smith hosted one of his biggest TNT nemeses (Shaquille “Tex Johnson” O’Neal being the other) on his show this week, they had to talk about some issues Charles Barkley insists on. Load management and the number of games per the exorbitant salaries is something Barkley has repeatedly commented on.

Since last year, Barkley has had his own opinion on discussions between the NBA and NBPA. Now that the 65-game rule is in effect as of this season, Barkley is disappointed. He’d rather see them play five more games to earn their massive paychecks. “It’s really unfortunate but these guys have all became businessmen,” Chuck referred to the players and Smith didn’t disagree.

As always, Chuck elaborated on what an honor and “privilege” it is to be in the NBA. He once again showed his unwavering admiration for professionals in the teaching and healthcare fields. “This load management thing is an awful situation,” he said but added, “but I’m pretty sure teachers go to work every day, nurses go to work every day.”

By the ‘awful situation,’ Barkley is referring to Commissioner Adam Silver’s new rule to curb load management. The Player Resting Policy was replaced with the Player Participation Policy in late 2023. It discourages a team from resting more than one ‘star’ player on any given night during the 82-game regular season.

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Fines for non-compliance are between $100,000 to $1.25 million for the team. However, this policy affects only about half of the 30 teams in the league with elite players on the roster.

‘Lucky’ Charles Barkley Wants More Basketball

While Silver claimed this was to adapt to an 82-game season, Barkley advocated for a shortened season and increased the awards eligibility to 70 games. His reasoning reflects his love for the sport. “To play a stupid game like basketball three or four days a week to make $40-$50 million is the best job in the world.” 

Even though he called it stupid, the Round Mound of Rebound loves his sport. He compared it to NFL teams who play around 17 games of a CTE-heavy contact sport in a season. MLB players play more games in one season too. Compared to other sports, Barkley believes, “We’re the luckiest dudes in the world.”

Barkley is unbidden in stating his opinion once more. Do you think he’s on point this time?

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