Charles Barkley might be the GOAT of blunt, off-hand remarks that catch people by surprise. He has made a media career out of it, even though his insight as a Hall Of Famer has something to do with that as well.
And Charles Barkley was always like that, even in his playing days. And his response to being fined $20,000 after fighting Bill Laimbeer and the Pistons during a game in 1990 is the perfect example of that.
“I don’t care if I get fined,” Barkley told Sports Illustrated after that game. “I made $3 million, what’s a couple thousand dollars?”
That is a bada** response from the Round Mound of Rebound. And it’s even more intense when you know the fight that he was talking about.
The Sixers were leading 105-95 with 14 seconds left when Bill Laimbeer shoved the ball into Rick Mahorn’s face. This set off a series of events, and Barkley, who had done his job with 36 points on the night, came steaming in and punched Bill Laimbeer in the face. The two then got into an all-out brawl, with the rest of their teams also getting involved.
It’s unimaginable to think that scenes like this could occur in the modern era of the NBA, specifically because the league moved to stamp out this type of behavior. But it wasn’t too uncommon back in the day, and Charles Barkley was certainly no stranger to it.
Charles Barkley Made $3 Million In The 1989-90 Season, His Career Earnings Exceeded $43 Million
Charles Barkley came into the league as the 5th overall pick and was an All-Star by his third season. He had truly blossomed into a star after 1987, averaging 26.4 points and 12.0 rebounds per game till 1990. In 1988, he signed a 5-year contract extension and became a millionaire. In the 1989-90 season, when this happened, he was making $3 million for that year, as he mentioned, so a fine like that wasn’t of much consequence to him.
Charles Barkley was also with Nike, and he got many endorsement deals that helped him make a pretty penny as well. Barkley has only gotten richer in retirement; he recently signed a ridiculous $100 million deal with TNT to continue appearing on television. If he didn’t care about $20,000 then, he surely doesn’t now either.
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