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Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley warned WNBA players as they appear to be heading full speed toward a labor dispute while Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is under surveillance.
Minnesota lynx Star Napheesa Collier increased the pressure on Engelbert during her final media availability of the season with reporters. She criticized what she called a “lack of accountability from the league office” and claimed Engelbert made scathing comments about rising stars Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers.
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Team Collier forward Napheesa Collier (24) looks on before the 2025 WNBA All Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)
Collier’s leadership leading up to the heated collective bargaining negotiations was praised by her colleagues around the league. But Barkley suggested that players should be careful not to overplay their hand.
“You have to be very careful, you are walking on thin ice at the moment,” he continued “The Rich Eisen Show.” “I know they’re doing great things, but you can’t exaggerate… As a league with Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and a hundred great players, I think we’ve gone on strike three times. This idea that these billionaire owners are just going to give you everything you want just because you have power and talent, that’s not going to happen.”
“You can overplay your hand. In the NBA we said, ‘No, we’re not going to strike. They need us.’ Do you know what I did? Sitting my black man at home, unemployed…playing bloody trifles.”
Charles Barkley looks on before the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers play in Game Four of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 13, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
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Barkley added that players need to be a little more careful when competing against billionaires and the power they wield.
“No matter how many millions you have, you are not a billionaire. So you always have to be careful when you overvalue your hand. What you do is you try to get the best deal possible at that moment and keep growing, but you have to be careful when you overuse your hand.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver expressed optimism that a player-to-player deal would be reached WNBA would be dealt with, although he acknowledged that the relationship between them and Engelbert also needed to be repaired.
Paige Bueckers poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected number one overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft at The Shed at Hudson Yards. (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)
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“We will make a deal with the players,” he said on Monday. “There is still a lot to do, but of course we will get a new collective agreement.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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