Charles Barkley has long criticized NBA players for not playing due to load management. Unsurprisingly, when the topic came up Tuesday night before the start of the NBA season, Barkley made it clear that he was incredibly happy the league did something about it.
Barkley and the rest of the TNT crew received a visit from Adam Silver ahead of the Denver Nuggets’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers. When the subject of the league’s new rules regarding players missing games While no injuries have surfaced, Barkley has made it clear that he believes players should play as long as they are injury-free.
“If you make $30 million, $40 million, $50 million to play basketball four days a week… Man, if you can play, shut up and play.”
Message from Chuck to players on load management ???? pic.twitter.com/woLLB4QSuA
– NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 24, 2023
“I talk to the players,” Barkley said. “Dude, forget ownership, forget fans. As a player, if you want to make $50 million to $60 million a year to play basketball three or four days a week, play basketball, man. Now, if you’re injured, don’t play. But everyone suffers after the first two weeks of the season – your legs hurt, your knees hurt. If you’re injured, I don’t want you to play.
“But the idea is, first of all, let’s bless these guys,” he continued. “You make 30, 40, 50 million dollars to play basketball four days a week, you have all the best shoes, you have the best medical staff, you have these guys sleeping in rooms, you have ice baths . Man, if you can play, shut up and play.
The NBA has made a concerted effort to address load management this offseason, increasing penalties for players missing games on national television and for multiple stars missing the same game. Along with all this, the league claimed to have proof that the load management practice is not effective.
