Charles Barkley goes by many nicknames that all justify him well. “The Round Mound of Rebound” to “Sir Charles” to “Square Bear of Mid-Air” all describe the style of play and personality that Barkley displayed during his basketball career. Barkley, only standing 6′ 5″ was forced to work hard to prove his place in the NBA, and he did just that.
Charles Barkley was born on February 20, 1963 in Leeds, Alabama. Growing up, Barkley enjoyed sports very much and started playing basketball. By the time high school came around, Barkley wanted to try out for the team. He failed to get any quality minutes for the team at his high school until his senior year due to his lack of height and high weight in his earlier high school years. Barkley had a phenomenal senior year after a growth spurt which brought him up to 6′ 5″ and received an offer to play basketball at Auburn University.
Barkley had a solid three years at Auburn before he decided to leave the college game for the lights of the NBA. He led the conference in rebounding each year at Auburn. During his college career, Barkley averaged 14.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Charles Barkley was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 5th pick of the 1984 draft. This was the same draft that featured Michael Jordan. Barkley made the All-Rookie team his first year with the 76ers and averaged 14.0 points per game. In the 1986-87 season Barkley led the NBA in rebounding with a total of 14.6 per game. He led the league for several years in dunks. In one instance, Barkley moved the entire support system of the hoop several inches. During his time with the 76ers, Barkley could never lead the team past the first round of the playoffs. In 1992, Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns.
In 1992-93 Barkley won his first NBA Most Valuable Player award. Barkley seemed to have rejuvenated his career after spending the summer before his first season with the Suns playing for the “Dream Team” in the summer Olympics. He led the Olympic team in scoring without getting an overly large amount of playing time.
Barkley continued his career in Phoenix until 1996 when he was traded to the Houston Rockets. He remained in Houston until the end of his career in 2001.
Charles Barkley ended his career with a total of 12,546 rebounds and an average of 11.1 rebounds per game. He also proved that he could score the ball throughout his career, averaging 22.1 points per game. Barkley is regarded as one of the most talented all around players in NBA history. He was an 11 time NBA All-Star.
Charles Barkley now works as an NBA commentator for TNT and continues to keep his audiences entertained. With his brash comments and very knowledgeable statements, he has proven to be just as exciting to watch even while not playing basketball. Barkley was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 even further cementing his place as one of the greatest players in NBA history.
