Charles Barkley will always be mocked for not winning an NBA championship during his career. He’s one of the best players to never win a ring and many people use that to pick on him, but the legendary power forward is always ready to fire back.
Barkley works with two NBA champions on TNT, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. Shaq is one of the most dominant players ever to exist and Kenny was a solid point guard, both winning titles during their active days.
Recently, the duo trolled Barkley for this, even teasing the 1993 NBA MVP for forming a superteam in Houston and still not winning a championship. Chuck wasn’t having any of that and replied to them during an appearance on Through The Wire (7:16).
“We didn’t know Scottie Pippen wasn’t going to bring Michael Jordan with him. But Hakeem and Clyde were 102 years old. So stop it, Kenny. Yeah, well, I played with some of the old great players, not great players in their prime. You got Hakeem in his prime and I got him when he was prime rib.”
That Rockets team had incredible names on the roster, but they weren’t in their prime anymore. Still, some fans hoped they could make some noise and aspire to win the championship. Instead, they became one of the worst superteams ever assembled.
Over a month ago, Scottie Pippen said something similar, explaining that those Rockets were old, also taking a shot at Barkley, who wasn’t as ‘dedicated’ as Pippen thought he would be.
“We were a little bit older. I thought I was joining a superteam to some degree. But it just didn’t work out… I felt that it wasn’t a good fit for me, obviously coming off a second back surgery. I didn’t realize how much Hakeem had diminished in the game… I didn’t realize Charles wasn’t as dedicated as I thought he would be.”
It seems like that team was a recipe for disaster. After winning two straight titles in 1994 and 1995, they tried to relive old glories by bringing old players. Sadly, that didn’t work out, and the rifts between Barkley and Pippen didn’t help the team, with the latter being traded after only one season in H-Town.
Chuck finished his career without winning a championship, and that’s something that will stick with him for the rest of his life. Still, the big man is always ready to reply when somebody tries to diminish his contributions to the game.
**Credit for idea: Essentially Sports**
