Charles Barkley is one of the greatest power forwards of all time. He was well-known for being a tenacious rebounder and fantastic interior scorer. Over the course of his career, Charles Barkley averaged 22.1 PPG, 11.7 RPG, and 3.9 APG.
In a Youtube video from the NBA, some NBA legends told stories about Charles Barkley. One of the legends was Shaquille O’Neal, who is now co-hosting NBA on TNT with Charles Barkley. Shaquille O’Neal praised Charles Barkley for playing above his size, claiming that “nothing could stop” Barkley. (0:21)
Charles Barkley. The Round Mound of Rebound…You always hear the term ‘Size doesn’t matter.’ For Charles Barkley, size did not matter. As a center are always 6’10, 6’11 or 7 foot. Power forwards are 6’8, 6’9 or 6’10. Not Charles Barkley. Charles Barkley was a solid 6’4. He didn’t care if you were taller or you were bigger or if you were faster or if you were stronger. He was gonna go through you and nothing could stop this man. A guy that played with that tenacity, with that speed and with that force plus the mentality he had of not caring, you could tell that he was going to be hard to stop.
While Shaquille O’Neal often trolls Charles Barkley, it is clear that O’Neal has respect for what Charles Barkley was able to accomplish on the basketball court. Charles Barkley was an MVP-caliber player, who managed to make the NBA Finals with the Phoenix Suns. However, he ended up losing to Michael Jordan. Most people in the 90s lost to Michael Jordan, so that shouldn’t be held against Charles Barkley.
A lot of young basketball fans recognize Charles Barkley from TV, but he was a dominant force in his prime. Hopefully, we see him get more recognition in the future, and there’s no question that he’s a legend of the game.
