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“Not only throw him under the bus, they backed up to make sure he was dead” – Charles Barkley blasts Suns stars for Frank Vogel’s firing

Posted on October 26, 2024 - 2:16 am by

The Phoenix Suns entered the 2024-25 season with renewed energy and a drive to meet the high expectations set by their star-studded trio finally. However, as the players seemed to have forgotten the demons of the past, Charles Barkley can’t get over how unapologetically the organization and the players have moved on after scapegoating and perhaps ending Frank Vogel’s coaching career after a first-round exit.

Barkley blames Suns players for ending Vogel’s coaching career

Frank has built a reputation for being a defensively focused coach. Vogel has thrived in systems where he’s had the leverage to make defensive rotations, as evidenced by his success in the 2019-20 season with the Lakers when he had JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard, and Anthony Davis.

However, during his one-year stint with PHX, Frank had only one traditional center, Jusuf Nurkic, with whom he could work. Not only did Vogel use the 7-foot center in 76 games, but improved his averages in rebounds, steals, and blocks. Still, Phoenix finished the campaign with a 49-33 record (6th seed in WC) primarily due to other issues – such as the injury woes of Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, the lack of on-court sync between them, and the Suns’ fourth-quarter woes.



There’s no denying that Vogel was to blame for not making bold changes or using the entire bench depth. However, for Barkley, the tendency to place the entire blame for a subpar season on the head coach and question his basketball approach is unacceptable.

“They threw coach Vogel under the bus. Not only throw him under the bus, they backed up to make sure he was dead,” Barkley said. “They just ran over and just like. ‘Let’s make sure he’s dead’. He survived the first time they ran over, but they’re like, ‘No, he’s not dead. Let’s back up and run over him a couple more times.’… There’s no way, they should’ve got swept. You cannot have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal… you can never get swept.”

Charles doesn’t like the approach of modern-day players

Moreover, reflecting on the broader issue, the 1993 MVP sounded off on the mentality of today’s NBA players who, according to him, refuse to take accountability for their poor performances. Chuck called out their tendency to shift the blame onto coaches,

“You know, guys, I really hate today’s NBA players who blame their coaches for everything,” he added. “The Suns underachieved.”

With the competition to be a head coach of a large-market team getting stronger every season, as evidenced by Sam Cassell being overlooked for JJ Redick as the Lakers’ head coach, one could only wish the best for Vogel to get another chance, even with a rebuilding team.