Charles Barkley minced no words while defending the NBA’s second apron. The former superstar also slammed the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant during his defense of the league’s implemented penalty zone on high-spending franchises.
Barkley believed that the decisions of star players to link up with teams to bolster their ring chances led the NBA to come up with the second apron. Simply put, the second apron was introduced in the 2023 CBA and is a hard salary cap. It imposes severe roster construction penalties for teams to prevent adding excessive talent through big spending.
Charles Barkley Defends the NBA’s Second Apron Amid Fans’ Calling Out the League’s Move
Speaking to The Ringer’s Bill Simmons on his podcast, Barkley called the second apron fair and had his reasons. Why did they have to come up with bulls**t rules, Bill?” the player-turned-analyst asked.
“Because all these guys want to play together and not compete. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the second apron, why did Adam Silver have to put the second apron in? Because LeBron [James] got all his guys together, KD [Kevin Durant] wants to go play with the Warriors.”
“I hate when I hear, ‘Man, the second apron is not fair.’ What do you mean, it’s not fair?” he further added. “If y’all stop all wanting to play together, we wouldn’t have to make up bogus a** rules to stop y’all from playing together.”
The implementation of the second apron essentially quashes a team’s dynasty aspirations. That said, fans were not in agreement.
‘Don’t Really Agree With Him’ — NBA Fans React to NBA’s Second Apron
Barkley’s comments also saw reactions from fans, and a chunk of them disagreed with his defense. “I don’t really agree with him here,” one of the fans tweeted.
I don’t really agree with him here
— Zoro (@0xRoronoaZ) September 3, 2025
Some believed Barkley’s thoughts stemmed from his lack of rings. “Of course, he hates it, has no rings even after joining that stacked Rockets team. People don’t forget that part of your career Chuck,” a comment read.
of course he hates it, has no rings even after joining that stacked rockets team. people don’t forget that part of your career chuck.
— Based (@BasedBucketss) September 3, 2025
This was seconded by another, who said, “Just because you couldn’t even get it done with a superteam.” A fan believed LeBron James would come back with a response. “I can’t wait till Bron starts going after Barkley’s career. Y’all better not cry when he retaliates,” the tweet said.
Earlier this year, Barkley believed that he would have won a title had he formed a superteam. He added that he would have teamed up with Michael Jordan and David Robinson, while also stating that he truly hates the concept. While he didn’t end his career with a championship, the 11-time All-Star had a decorated run in the NBA. However, his latest comments surely haven’t seen him win any hearts.
