Sports

Charles Barkley Rips NBA for Coddling Players With More Rest Days

Charles Barkley is no fan of the NBA extending the upcoming season to cut down on back-to-backs.

Charles Barkley
Image via USA Today Sports/Mark J. Rebilas
USA Today Sports

Never one to shy away from stating his opinion, Charles Barkley called out the NBA, and their players, for extending the upcoming season to reduce the amount of contests on back-to-back nights (and not for the first time, either). Barkley made his most recent comments on Wednesday, during an SMU athletic forum, where he reportedly praised the NBA in "as sarcastic a manner as possible" when the recent change was brought up.

"I want to commend the NBA," Barkley said. "You know, these poor babies can't play back-to-back games." He later added to that by stating, "We want to make it convenient for them. At $40 million a year, we can't stress 'em out."

The topic of resting players, which has been a source of contention in a league that markets around their superstars, was addressed by league commissioner Adam Silver earlier this year when he called it "a significant issue."

"Where we're heading is the adoption of guidelines that will be in place for next season which will strongly recommend that the extent they rest, they rest at home, and teams also not rest multiple starters on the same night," the commish said back in June. "Let's see how that plays out."

Yep, let's see.

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