Charles Barkley is shown Thursday, July 10, 2025 at Edgewood Tahoe for the American Century Championshop celebrity golf tournament, Friday-Sunday. Jim Krajewski/RGJ / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Charles Barkley Blasts Today's NBA Coaches For Bowing To Players

Originally posted on Back in the Day NBA on SI
By Shandel Richardson | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 8:58 AM ET

Hall of Famer Charles Barkley wants to go back to the time when coaches were in control of the NBA. He misses the era of Pat Riley, Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. That's when coaches, not players, led teams.

"I think the biggest thing you need to be a great player is have a good coaching staff," Barkley said on the Dan Patrick Show. "That's probably the most important thing, the coaching staff. I think more players get ruined by bad coaching staffs because the coaches are cowards. They're scared to coach."

Barkley feels stars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards hold more leverage than coaches. He thinks management tends to cater to the players out of fear of losing him. Barkley said it should be opposite to help the league.

"I wanted a Pat Riley," Barkley said "I had a great coach, Billy Cunningham, a Gregg Popovich. But most of these coaches today, they are cowards. Because the players make so much money, they don't have them under control. The players run the team. And the coach need to realize, that player going to get him fired.

"We have taken away the power from the coaches away, because the players make so much money," Barkley added. "But I say bad coaches have ruined more players than anything in the NBA."

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This article first appeared on Back in the Day NBA on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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