«Disrespectful!» Nearly 200 «Injury-Related» Absences on the Final Game Day Leave NBA Legend Charles Barkley Speechless

With 195 players sidelined just before the playoffs, Charles Barkley unleashes his criticism.

“You might give Wemby a break. Or the Joker, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon. I’m okay with LeBron getting a rest too, because he’s 102 years old,” Barkley preemptively offered an excuse for the recent injured superstars on Inside the NBA.

However, the fact that a total of 195 players were unavailable on the final NBA game day, Monday night, left ‘Chuck’ stunned: «All these other guys just sitting out, it’s just disrespectful!»

Barkley targeted all the stars who wanted to take a break before the playoffs, even though they were generally fit to play. It’s difficult to assess which players are genuinely injured and which are simply being rested. On the penultimate game day, 168 professionals had already been forced to sit out, having been reported as injured or ill.

While some teams had nothing left to play for and their seeding was already set so close to the end of the regular season, others were still fighting for direct playoff qualification and better positioning.

Yet, even these teams seemed to disregard it entirely. For example, the Hawks could have secured fifth place in the East with a win against the Miami Heat. However, there seemed to be little interest in a potential first-round matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Quin Snyder fielded a starting five consisting of Keaton Wallace, Corey Kispert, Zaccharie Risacher, Asa Newell, and Tony Bradley. “The focus is on our guys going into the postseason healthy,” explained the head coach. The Hawks lost the game decisively and slipped to sixth place.

An absurd spectacle unfolded between the New York Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets, as the Knicks had already secured third place in the Eastern Conference before tip-off. Accordingly, Mike Brown rested all his starters completely – except for Mikal Bridges. The forward was allowed to be on the court for the first 23 seconds (!) and thus celebrate his 638th consecutive appearance. The Knicks were outmatched, and the Hornets secured ninth place with their confident victory.

The Boston Celtics showed that it can be done differently. While Joe Mazzulla’s squad also rested a large part of their rotation, they still managed to impede the Orlando Magic, who will now have to play in the Play-In tournament on the road.

Barkley on the 65-Game Rule: «Shut Up!»

Barkley took the opportunity to once again lash out at the current generation of superstars, who have been complaining more and more frequently about the controversial 65-game rule: «I really don’t think 65 games is too much to ask,» ‘Sir Charles’ fumed about the complaints. «Shut up! You guys voted for it yourselves during the collective bargaining negotiations, but now you want to complain. If you hadn’t been sitting on your butts drinking margaritas half the time, they wouldn’t have even put the rule in. So just shut up!»

The recently much-discussed rule states that players are only eligible for various individual awards, such as All-NBA teams or MVP, if they have played 65 out of the 82 regular-season games. The rule was originally introduced to combat ‘load management,’ where superstars missed games on short notice without any apparent reason.

This season, the rule has become a political issue. While NBA Commissioner Adam Silver defended it and explained that the change would serve its purpose, many players viewed the threshold critically. Numerous hardship cases arose. Among them, Cade Cunningham, who led the Detroit Pistons to the top of the East, will narrowly miss out on selection due to injury. Using his example, the players’ union demanded a revision of the rule.

Luka Dončić also has to hope for an exception. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar injured himself after exactly 64 appearances. However, since he missed two games due to the birth of his daughter, he hopes to still be eligible through a hardship application. Jokic, on the other hand, played on the final game day, even though the rest of the Nuggets’ stars were rested, just to reach the 65-game mark. Victor Wembanyama also returned surprisingly quickly from injury over the weekend for his 65th appearance and was then absent again for the season finale.

«That Would Be a Fair Approach»: Barkley Demands Draft Revolution

Finally, Barkley addressed a third controversial topic: tanking. According to the Hall of Famer, the current lottery system is the root of the problem. Barkley initially called the current procedure «stupid nonsense» before reiterating his long-held stance that bad teams should not be rewarded too much.

«I’ve been saying this for years. Teams have been doing nothing but tanking for three months. Every team that doesn’t make the playoffs should get exactly one ball. You can’t increase your chances by losing more games. Every team gets one ball. That would be a fair approach,» he pleaded.

He also reiterated his long-standing position of indirectly punishing team owners for too many losses: «If you finish below .500, you just shouldn’t be allowed to raise ticket prices.» He agrees with Silver in that the commissioner has repeatedly announced his intention to rethink and revise the system.

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