Charles Barkley thinks the Denver Nuggets got a raw deal.
No, it wasn’t because of any missed calls or unlucky shots. It’s because of how the NBA scheduled the team’s series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
During Sunday’s episode of Inside the NBA, Barkley thought the NBA was “unfair” in how it scheduled Game 4 of the Nuggets-Thunder series.
Charles Barkley: “I thought what the NBA did [to the Nuggets] was unfair. Making them play late Friday night, then an early afternoon… OKC [has more depth]… I don’t think it’s fair to blame everything on [Nikola Jokić], but he has not played well & I think he’s wearing down.” pic.twitter.com/qL96XM4WiD
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 12, 2025
“I thought what the NBA did to them was unfair,” Barkley began. “Making them play late Friday night and then an early afternoon game (on Sunday). I thought that was unfair. I truly believe that.”
“Both teams had to do it,” Kenny Smith astutely chimed in.
“Yeah, but they got more depth,” Barkley responded. “OKC got 12 players.”
“Well, play more guys,” Jalen Rose shot back.
“Well, that’s on Denver,” Barkley conceded. “But also, Denver has never addressed their backup center situation or their bench. I think that’s one of the things that hurt them last year. Because he (Nikola Jokic) gave out of gas last year against Rudy (Goebert) and big KAT (Karl Anthony-Towns). So I don’t think it’s fair to blame everything on the Joker, but he has not played well and I think he’s wearing down.”
Barkley’s point about Jokic wearing down probably has some truth, but that doesn’t make it “unfair” that the NBA scheduled a somewhat quick turnaround between Game 3 and Game 4. As Smith pointed out, both teams had the same amount of rest.
And it’s not as if this is a crazy turnaround by NBA standards. Teams play games on back-to-back nights during the regular season all of the time. Players are used to this type of turnaround between games.
So to call foul on the NBA is a little weak from the Chuckster. Though it seems his point was more about Denver’s lack of depth than any sort of injustice done by the league’s scheduling decisions.
