Watch: Barkley again rips 76ers, Embiid over load management

Charles Barkley. Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Watch: Charles Barkley again rips 76ers, Joel Embiid over load management

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Oct 24, 2024 7:35 PM ET

The Philadelphia 76ers load management plan for superstar Joel Embiid has been one of the biggest storylines early in the 2024-25 NBA season. Along with drawing an investigation from the NBA, it has also produced a swarm of criticism from former players.

One of the most vocal critics is, unsurprisingly, "Inside The NBA's" Charles Barkley, who is never shy about sharing his opinions. After being critical of the 76ers' plan on Tuesday night, Barkley again sounded off on Thursday night and did not hold back.

Barkley pointed out that NBA players are not construction workers, nurses or people with "real jobs" that are working 40-50 hours per week. He repeatedly pointed out that NBA players are only playing basketball three or four times per week.

You can hear all of his comments on Thursday here:

"We're not steel workers, we're not nurses... we're playing basketball, at the most, four days a week."

Embiid's load management isn't flying with Chuck pic.twitter.com/PC2HZd9HwK
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 24, 2024

Load management has been a concern for the league for years now, with the biggest concern being superstar players not always being in the lineup even if they are healthy. Networks pay big money for games, fans pay big money to go to games and there is an expectation to see the best players on the floor.

Embiid has had his share of injury issues throughout his career, and has never played more than 68 games in a single season. He played in just 39 a year ago.

The 76ers had talked about Embiid not playing in back-to-back games this season, prompting the NBA to investigate the plan and their strategy. No matter what the NBA does, former players have already made their opinions in the court of public opinion very, very clear.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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