I just wanted to say thank you to Charles for the memories and
the great moments in the Suns franchise.
Charle's accomplishments;Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2006); NBA MVP (1993); All-NBA First Team (1988, '89, '90, '91, '93); All-NBA Second Team (1986, '97, '92, '94, '95); All-NBA Third Team (1996); 11-time All-Star; All-Star MVP (1991); One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996); Olympic gold medalist (1992, '96).
There are four players in NBA history who have compiled at least 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley. But when the conversation turns to the exploits of Barkley, many people think first of the always entertaining, sometimes outrageous running commentary on basketball and life he provided throughout his celebrated 16-year NBA career.
Charles Barkley led the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals and won MVP in 1993.
However, as a player he was the greatest anomaly in basketball history. Listed at 6-6, but probably actually closer to 6-4, he played power forward as well as anyone, often dominating players half a foot taller.
Barkley brought vitality, attitude and a host of skills to professional basketball. He was viewed as an oddity -- an undersized power forward with rebounding as his only discernible basketball skill -- when he entered the league with the nickname "Round Mound of Rebound."
Undeterred, Barkley quickly buried that backhanded compliment once he began playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. It was not rare to see the neophyte Barkley grab a rebound among a crowd, then rumble downcourt with the ball and finish with a monster slam. In a half-court offense, he could fill the basket from the paint or the perimeter. And on the defensive end, he would play the passing lane for a steal or block a center's shot.
His awe-inspiring play demanded full respect and earned him a new nickname: Sir Charles.
"Barkley is like Magic [Johnson] and Larry [Bird] in that they don't really play a position," Bill Walton said in a SLAM magazine issue ranking NBA greats. "He plays everything; he plays basketball. There is nobody who does what Barkley does. He's a dominant rebounder, a dominant defensive player, a three-point shooter, a dribbler, a playmaker."
A perennial All-Star and All-NBA selection during his career, his pinnacle may have been winning the NBA Most Valuable Player award in 1993, his first season with the Phoenix Suns. Although he made a career of outmaneuvering and outsmarting bigger players while also overpowering smaller opponents, few expected anything close to that of the chubby player from Auburn.
Congrats to the Round Mound of Rebound for an excellent career. Arguably the greatest rebounder ever due largely in part by his height. Congrats to his HOF inductment. I wish him well in his aspirations to run for Governor of Alabama in the near future. I thought that he never had a job before & doesn't want 1 ever. Um, Charles, I'm pretty sure being Governor is a job . He doesn't consider playing in the NBA a job b/c he loved it too damn much.
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Tribute to Charles Barkley
. He doesn't consider playing in the NBA a job b/c he loved it too damn much.
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