Charles Barkley has advocated for NBA fans, especially regarding load management. Since stepping away from basketball, he's always had an issue with players sitting out due to load management. Even at the beginning of the 2023 season, Barkley had a serious take on load management.
When he appeared on the Dan Patrick Show on Friday, he once again showed support towards fans and resentment towards load management. Barkley offered a simple solution players can have for a situation like this.
“If you’re not going to play back-to-backs or if you’re going to load manage, just tell the coach ‘Hey, I’m going to give you 25 (minutes) tonight, maybe we can push it 27-30 (minutes),'” Barkley said. “Adam Silver, who is amazing, killed most of the back-to-backs anyway.
“You can’t ask people out there who give their hard-earned money on real jobs to say ‘I’m coming to see this great player play', and he’s making $80-100 million dollars when he’s sitting out because he’s tired. That’s not sustainable.”
While load management seems to prevent injury on the surface, that claim isn't true. An NBA.com article pointed out that there was no link between load-managed players and a decreased risk of injury. Even though players rest in preparation for the playoffs, Barkley doesn't buy it.
Is there evidence that Charles Barkley's load management claim is valid?
Funny enough, zero NBA all-stars played all 82 games this past season. Also, there were only 17 players who played every single game. However, the league took a positive step in the 2023 offseason. They added the NBA PPP (player participation policy) and it saw good results.
For instance, players have to play 65 games to be eligible for certain awards. This includes MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and All-NBA selections. Also, those players must play more than 20 minutes a game. The new rule changes are a step but not up to Barkley's standards.
Another example could be Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. After he declared he won't play in back-to-back, Barkley became disappointed with Embiid. Although he had a torn left meniscus, he came back and still dominated. Embiid isn't the only example of load-managed all-stars.
Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson, and Kyrie Irving also highlight that list. To conclude his thoughts, Barkley answered Patrick's question. He asked Barkley “What if you just got paid for the number of games you played?” His response was, “Those dudes would be playing 85 games, not 52.”
As the league continues to shift its participation policy, Barkley could still showcase flaws within players missing games.
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