TNT may have lost the NBA, but it’s got what’s probably the best byproduct from the popularity of women’s basketball. Unrivaled started with a unique format and unprecedented success. Among the many fans it won over was Charles Barkley. And it also became a threat to the norm. Unrivaled started at a time when the WNBA rejected the CBA and was going into negotiations for a new one. This season has proven what happens when the star, Caitlin Clark, is out of the game. That foreshadowed what’s to come if the WNBA doesn’t heed Sir Charles’ prophecy.

Amid deteriorating CBA discussions, a looming threat of lockout, and bitterness between the WNBA players and the commissioner, Charles Barkley was on the Rich Eisen Show, where the situation with the WNBA inevitably came up. Chuck pretty stated his favorite player has put the league in jeopardy.

“I love Napheesa [Collier]. I was really rooting for her to win MVP this year,” he said before revealing the revolution she started. “So listen, she has… and she’s one of the owners of Unrivaled, which we produce on our network. If they screw around and go on strike, a bunch of those star players could go to Unrivaled, and they can start their own league.”

Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart founded Unrivaled with a unique format – the players were not only signed on to teams but also held equity in this league. Which meant they benefited from the profits, unlike the situation in the W. Several former NBA players predicted that the female basketball players who were in Unrivaled are going into CBA negotiations guns loaded, wanting similar profit-sharing in the league’s success.

The very success owed to superstars like Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, and Paige Bueckers. With Caitlin, Angel, and Cameron injured this season, ticket sales and viewership were affected. Wilson and Bueckers carried the rest of the season. Which bolsters Chuck’s point.

“You’ve got to understand one thing about these negotiations—and I’ve been in these negotiations—the stars aren’t the same as the regular players. Let’s get that out of the way. The stars are the ones who drive the league, but most of the rank and file are regular good players.”

This is where he worries for the expendable players. “If the WNBA went on strike and all the A’jas, Napheesas —Napheesa’s already down there—Caitlin, all those girls went to Unrivaled, they could start their own league with their own equity and make three times the money they’re making now. Now, that would screw all the other players in the WNBA.”

This is an ominous warning. It’s possibly why the president of the WNBPA is not ready to drop the L-word just yet.

Charles Barkley wants to protect the other players

Charles Barkley is very familiar with superstars and lockouts. He was one of the superstars in an era with Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Shaquille O’Neal. As he said on the Rich Eisen Show, it’s a “fact” of life that regular players aren’t going to get the same salaries and endorsements as the superstars.

There are loads of ‘rank and filed’ players in the WNBA. While Caitlin, Angel, and Paige’s salaries are nowhere close to the smallest NBA contract, they have the major deals – like Clark’s historic deal with Wilson basketball mirrors only Michael Jordan’s. It’s the other players, whose endorsement deals don’t measure the same, who had to go overseas to supplement the WNBA income, and aren’t the big draw for tickets and merchandise that will be the losers in a WNBA lockout.

Chuck’s favorite player, Napheesa Collier, has waged war on WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert during this crucial time. In this firestorm of players demanding a change in leadership, the players’ union president, Nneka Ogwumike, downplayed a possible lockout.

“Hopefully [the agreement] gets done in the time that makes sense. I don’t think anyone wants to see a lockout,” she told ESPN. “That’s not something that we’re advocating for. We just want to make sure that this is a deal that’s done the right way and using whatever time it takes for us to be able to have both sides agree on something.”

The current agreement expires on October 31, 2025. Failing to reach an agreement before that doesn’t automatically trigger a lockout. They could just extend the negotiation period. There’s, however, a time crunch with two new expansion teams in 2026, existing contracts expiring, and the Indiana Fever and Dallas Wings wanting to rebuild around their superstars.

During this, if Clark and Wilson followed Reese, Bueckers, Collier, and Stewart to Unrivaled, it would be a huge blow to the WNBA (but a big win to TNT, who get to air hypothetical games with CC and A’ja). But not every player is in Unrivaled. Under a lockout, most players would be forced to go overseas, have their careers suspended, and have no guarantee that they will be re-signed to any team.

Chuck’s warning is not necessarily to the league. He’s also been in the 1995 and 1998 lockouts, where things got so crazy, Charles Oakley slapped Barkley, and Chuckster even lashed out at reporters. Drawing from his experience, he advised the WNBA players not to overplay their hands because, unlike Unrivaled, the owners hold the cards. If things go sideways, the players without the superstar safety net are going to suffer.