Charles Barkley
In 1984, the Philadelphia 76ers drafted Charles Barkley with the No. 5 overall pick. Prior to his NBA debut, the Alabama native spent three years at Auburn University where he still holds the school record for his field goal percentage (62.6%). Barkley joined the NBA All-Rookie First Team in his first year with the 76ers. After eight seasons of learning from Philadelphia greats like Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, and Moses Malone, the power forward became the NBA MVP in 1993 with the Phoenix Suns.
Along the way, Barkley represented the U.S. at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, winning two gold medals. The 11-time All-Star eventually played for Houston Rockets, rounding out his 16-year NBA career as the Round Mound of Rebound. Since his retirement in 2000, Barkley has had a successful career as an NBA commentator, earning four Sports Emmy Awards for his work on TNT.
- Birthday: February 20, 1963
- Hometown: Leeds, Alabama
- College: Auburn University
- Height: 6’6″
- Spouse: Maureen Blumhardt (m. 1989)
- Children: Christiana Barkley
- Jersey: No. 34 (Phoenix Suns) and No. 32 (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Number of NBA championship wins: 0
- Number of NBA championship appearances: 1 (1993)
Visit Charles Barkley’s profile on Basketball-Reference.com.
Read the latest articles about Charles Barkley:
When the Dream Team headed into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Larry Bird took a chance to take a parting shot at his old teammates.
Charles Barkley believed he was better than Michael Jordan until 1993.
During his time with the Dream Team, Charles Barkley feared that he’d get in trouble with Coach K after providing his daughter with a minibar’s worth of alcohol.
Charles Barkley didn’t have to do much in order to cash in on a $100,000 bet on himself at the American Century Challenge, but the former NBA great still failed to meet the challenge.
Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley always found new ways to make a wager.
Charles Barkley was a talented NBA player and, at least on one occasion, a vulgar trash talker.
Larry Bird was one of the greatest trash talkers of all time and Charles Barkley shared a story about Bird who once told him on the court “there’s not a white guy on the planet that can guard me.” This endeared Bird to Barkley even though the Celtics consistently beat the Sixers in the 1980s.
Charles Barkley might soon be the only person besides Aaron Rodgers who knows what the Packers QB is thinking.
The last time the Phoenix Suns reached the NBA Finals, they were beaten by the Chicago Bulls as Michael Jordan set a pair of NBA records.
Charles Barkley is never afraid to speak candidly about any topic…including his complicated legacy.
