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Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley warned WNBA players as they appear to be full steam in front of a work conflict while Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has been investigated.
Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier reinforced the pressure on Engelbert during her final media availability of the season with journalists. She shouted what she described as the “lack of accountability from the league office” and alleged that Engelbert made funny comments about rising stars Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers.
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Team Collier -Tip Napheesa Collier (24) looks at before 2025 WNBA All Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 19, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imag images)
Collier’s leadership, which was on the way into what will be warmed up collective negotiation negotiations, were hailed among her colleagues around the league. But Barkley suggested that players should be careful not to overplay their hand.
“They have to be very careful, they are going on thin ice right now,” he said at “The Rich Eisen Show.” “I know they’re doing some good things, but you can’t overplay your hand … Like a league that had Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and a hundred big players, I think we continued to strike three times. So this view just because you gained power and talent, these billionaers just want to give you everything you want, it won’t happen.
“You can overplay your hand. In the NBA we were like, ‘No, we won’t strike. They need us.’ Do you know what I was doing?
Charles Barkley looks at before Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers play in games four of the 2025 NBA final 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 cautious when they go up to billionaires and the power they have.
“No matter how many millions you have, you are not a billionaire. So you always have to be careful to overplay your hand. What you do is, you are trying to make the best of the moment and continue to grow, but you have to be careful to overplay your hand.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed optimism that an agreement between the players and WNBA would get done, although he acknowledged that the relationship between them and Engelbert should also be repaired.
Paige Bueckers poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected with the largest overall choice for Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA draft at the shed at Hudson Yards. (Vincent Carchietta-prescribed images)
“We get an appointment with the players,” he said Monday. “Lots of work back to being done, but of course we get a new collective negotiation agreement.
