Charles Barkley Has No Sympathy For NBA Players Who Sit Out Games

Charles Barkley delivered a blunt take on an NBA rule that will affect this year's award races.

The NBA requires players to suit up in 65 of 82 regular-season games to qualify for awards and All-NBA honors. Cade Cunningham and Luka Doncic each fell one game short of that benchmark, sparking debate over the eligibility requirements.

Some critics want reform, but not Barkley. The Hall of Famer ranted on the issue during Sunday's "Inside The NBA."

"I don't think 65 games is a lot to ask," Barkley said. "Man, shut the hell up. Y'all voted on that in the collective bargaining, now y'all want to complain. If y'all wasn't sitting on your a** half the time, sipping margaritas and stuff, they wouldn't have put the 65-game threshold in there. Shut the hell up."

Should NBA change 65-game requirement?

The NBA enacted the 65-game eligibility rule before the 2023-24 season to curb load management. As a result, a superstar can't be properly recognized for a breakout season because of a legitimate injury.

A collapsed lung forced Cunningham to miss 11 games late in the season. The Detroit Pistons star is ineligible for awards despite playing more minutes than Victor Wembanyama, who played in 65 games when including the San Antonio Spurs' NBA Cup final loss.

The National Basketball Players Association called to eliminate or modify the 65-game rule after Cunningham's injury last month.

"Cade Cunningham's potential ineligibility for postseason awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule and yet another example of why it must be abolished or reformed to create an exception for significant injuries," the union said in a statement. "Since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honors by this arbitrary and overly rigid quota."

Wembanyama addressed the issue from a more nuanced perspective than Barkley. The big man considered implementing minutes or tweaking the number of games needed.

"It's a good view, in my opinion, to not have a limit. It's one opinion," Wembanyama said. "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."

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 8:30 AM.