Charles Barkley made remarks on American NBA players competing in the Olympics back in 2016. In the process, he asked outright why the nation needed to win the competition each and every year. Rather, he suggested imposing an odd age limit on the players who could take part. Barkley asked the NBA to cease sending its players to the Olympics on The Graham Bensinger Show. He suggested using the competition to help young athletes who weren’t prepared for the league progress. He suggested that the nation think about designating this as an under-23 game in order to make this into reality.
“We don’t have to win the Olympics all the time. We don’t have to send in Kevin Durant for this thing… They’re making them play too much!… They just played the NBA season, some of them went deep into the playoffs… Why not let some of our young guys play? They need the experience in the game. They not ready for the NBA. Why don’t we let them play now, play next summer?…”
He went on to say: “I believe, there’s been some chatter, starting a rule, we have to be 23 and under. I think that would be great.”
Charles Barkley talks about Olympics getting NBA players injured
Barkley went on to say that Kevin Durant had nearly hurt himself at these competitions. He would not stop saying that there was no need for the United States to send a “nuclear war head” to international competitions. He thought the nation had demonstrated its superiority as well.
Chuck was warranted in his remarks at the time, to be fair. Both the 2014 FIBA World Cup and the Olympics were won by the USA with great confidence. They also triumphed somewhat easily in the 2016 Olympics, taking home the gold medal. It may have made sense to use the tournament at this time to produce the best college players in the country. But since then, things have evolved. The American Olympic team for 2024 is the best illustration of this.
