“Charles Barkley, that son of a b*tch Rick Barry is never coaching in the NBA!”: When David Stern barked at the NBAonTNT analyst for trying to get the Warriors legend a job

Former Commissioner, David Stern, told Charles Barkley that Rick Barry was not getting a job in the NBA because no one likes him. 

Charles Barkley and Rick Barry have had a great relationship with one another. When it comes to mainstream documentation, the two go as far back as the 50th anniversary celebration for the NBA when the two had a lighthearted interaction where Chuck showed his gratitude towards Barry and the legends who came before him. 

When it comes to Rick Barry, according to basketball historian, Jackie MacMullan, he belongs somewhere in the Icons Club. The underhand free throw savant was more than just a Finals MVP, a 6x All-NBA and 12x All-Star. He was also one of the first players to push for player empowerment.

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Back in the 60s and 70s, NBA players, no matter their superstardom, couldn’t push for a move from one team to another at will as they do today, let alone for a move from one league to another. Rick Barry did just that as he wanted to join the ABA after losing the 1967 NBA Finals in 6 games. 

Due to legal disputes, he couldn’t and had to wait a year and he did. The 1968 season started with Barry on the Oakland Oaks and in the ABA, a league he stayed in for 4 years. 

Charles Barkley on Rick Barry. 

While Rick Barry’s on court excellence was lauded, his demeanor wasn’t. He was constantly being called out for not being a good person and essentially, an a**hole. Everyone from his teammates to people in the media weren’t all too fond of the prolific scorer. 

Charles Barkley however, never found this to be true. Well, at the very least, he didn’t care if it was as he didn’t play in Barry’s era so he never got to experience that side of him before.

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While on episode 6 of the ‘Icons Club’, Charles Barkley opened up about having a casual friendship with Barry. This led to him asking Chuck to put his name out there for coaching gigs around the collegiate and NBA level. 

Barkley plugging Rick’s name into conversations got so frequent that it led to Commissioner David Stern personally telling Charles to stop. 

“David Stern says to me, ‘Charles, quit mentioning Rick Barry’s name. That son of a b*tch is never going to be in the NBA as long as I’m commissioner. Nobody likes Rick. You’re not old enough to know what an a**hole he was.’”[around the 39:10 mark]

Barry said he didn’t care about any of this as all he wanted to do was win. Which he did.