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:
Over the years, Charles Barkley hasn't hidden his dislike of Skip Bayless. That's certainly going strong, if an ‘All the Smoke' appearance is any indication.
While Charles Barkley didn't always act like a gentleman, he did earn the title of “Sir Charles.” How did that iconic nickname come to be?
Charles Barkley is never shy about speaking his mind. As you might expect, that means he has some big ideas for a hypothetical day as NBA commissioner.
On the court, Kobe Bryant's Mamba Mentality knew no bounds. And while he could show that same fire away from the hardwood, he also knew when to back down.
Charles Barkley, for better or worse, is rarely at a loss for words. In this case, he knows exactly what he'd tell Michael Jordan about their relationship.
Charles Barkley always speaks his mind. While that's made him a media star, it also ruined his relationship with Michael Jordan.
Even before he was a fixture on TNT, Charles Barkley had no problem crossing the line and making some less-than-ideal comments.
These days, Charles Barkley has no problem speaking his mind on TV. During his playing career, he held the same sort of conviction.
Charles Barkley isn't shy about speaking his mind, but, in this case, he seems to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth.
When he heard Charles Barkley say that he wasn't a role model, Michael Jordan realized the forward was onto something.
