Charles Barkley is one of the greatest legends in NBA history never to win a championship but that was certainly never due to a lack of trying. The power forward won an MVP and was a perennial All-Star, and that was because he performed like one.
Charles Barkley spent the beginning of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers. Eventually, he found himself with the Phoenix Suns, where he led the team to an NBA Finals appearance. And this feat came off the back of ‘the best game he ever played’ as he shared.
“The best game I ever played in my life. Game 7 when I had 44 (points) and 24 (rebounds). Best game I’ve ever played in my life,” Barkley said on All The Smoke. “It was a great series, we win Game 1 and 2, they win Game 3 and 4, we win 5, they win 6.
“And I pulled Frank Johnson aside and he said, ‘Oh I ain’t worried, we got Game 7. I got the best f**king basketball player in the world on my team. You ain’t gonna let us lose Game 7.’ And before I the game I said, ‘Boys, we going to the Finals, get on. Get on my back, we going.’ And I ended up playing the best game.”
The Game 7 Barkley is referencing is the one the Phoenix Suns had against the Seattle Supersonics in the 1993 Western Conference Finals. After a grueling series, Barkley’s Suns played in a Game 7 which they won by 13 points.
Barkley had monster numbers, scoring 44 points and grabbing 24 rebounds, but he was a beast all series. He averaged 25.6 points, 13.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game during that matchup. He and his team would go on to lose in the NBA Finals against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, but Barkley was too good that year.
Charles Barkley Learned He Wasn’t The Greatest Player In The World In Those NBA Finals
Having just won MVP, Charles Barkley thought he was the best player in the world. He hadn’t won championships till then, but he thought that was due to the supporting cast. But as he admitted, going up against and losing to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls taught him that he wasn’t the best player in the world.
Barkley certainly gave it his best that series too after initially getting a little down, but what happened, happened. The best game of his life took him to the ultimate stage, but once he got there, Chuck couldn’t get his team past the GOAT.
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