Rusty Weiss
Charles Barkley delivered one of his signature no-filter rants on Inside the NBA, blasting current players for complaining about the league’s 65-game threshold in order to earn major individual awards.
The Hall of Famer made it clear he has little sympathy for stars who are now griping about the rule. You know, the one they helped create through the collective bargaining agreement.
In typical fashion, Chuck told them to stop whining and take responsibility for their own actions. He’s right, of course. Asking NBA players to have at least taken part in 79% of the games in order to receive year-long awards isn’t much to ask.
“I don’t think 65 games is a lot to ask,” Barkley said, according to Awful Announcing. “Man, shut the hell up. Ya’ll voted on that in the collective bargaining, now ya’ll want to complain.”
“If ya’ll wasn’t sitting on your ass half the time, sipping margaritas and stuff, they wouldn’t have put the 65-game threshold in there,” he added. “Shut the hell up.”
Charles Barkley GOES OFF on players complaining about the 65 game rule 😳
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 12, 2026
"I don't think 65 games is a lot to ask. Shut the hell up. Y'all vote in the collective bargaining and now you want to complain. If Y'all wasn't sitting on your ass half the time sipping margaritas and… pic.twitter.com/Sy9FSvy8Ib
‘Sipping Margaritas and Stuff’: Barkley Tells Complaining Stars to ‘Shut the Hell Up’ Over 65-Game Threshold
The 65-game rule was introduced to curb rampant load management by requiring players to appear in at least that number of regular-season games to qualify for awards such as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and All-NBA.
Barkley argued that the threshold only exists because too many players spent years resting unnecessarily during the regular season, forcing the league to draw a hard line.
Sir Charles continued to go off amid reports that roughly 195 players were listed as unavailable for the final game of the season, presumably saving themselves for the playoffs. Barkley said it’s understandable to rest certain players, but teams are going too far.
“You rest Wemby, maybe. You rest Joker, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon… You rest LeBron because he’s 102 years old. All these dudes sitting out, it’s just disrespectful,” he said.
It’s disrespectful to the fans who pay good money hoping to see their star players actually compete.
Charles Barkley calls out all the players who have been sitting out the final 2 regular season games:
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 12, 2026
"You rest Wemby, maybe. You rest Joker and Jamal Murray. You rest LeBron because he's 102 years old. All these dudes sitting out its just disrespectful" pic.twitter.com/IiMDQbynwC
Barkley’s rant was sparked by a segment featuring Victor Wembanyama’s impressive real-time math breakdown of the rule.
“A guy that plays 50 games, 35 minutes a game, that’s 50 times 35. That’s 1,750 [minutes], right? And if a guy plays 75 games at 20 minutes, it’s 1,500 [minutes],” Wembanyama said.
“It’s a good view in my opinion to not have a limit. It’s one opinion. 75 percent of the games, in my opinion, would be a logical thing. That would be 61.5 games, right? So 62 games? There’s some interesting questions,” he continued. “I don’t think there’s going to be an exception made for this year.”
Chuck was impressed enough to joke that American kids should be sent to France to get an education.
“What we need to do is send all these bad ass American kids over to France to go to school. That’s the first thing we need to do. All these dummy kids over here,” Barkley said. “We need to send they a— to France.”
