Charles Barkley and Kevin Garnett are two big legends of this game, both with similar personalities on the court. They became two of the greatest power forwards of all time during their active days, clashing several times.
Barkley wasn’t the tallest player of all, but he always fought hard and made life difficult for his rivals, becoming one of the best players in the league in the 90s. Unfortunately, Michael Jordan prevented him from winning an NBA championship in 1993, but his legacy in the league remains untouched.
For instance, Garnett named him one of the greatest 12 players to ever play in the association. During a recent appearance on Million Dollaz Worth Of Game, KG put Barkley among his honorable mentions to his top 12 of all time. Garnett faced a 10+ year veteran in Barkley when he made it to the league, but that didn’t mean Chuck wasn’t dominant at the time (27:00).
“Barkley was a m*therf*cker man. He was 6’4 and he played like he was 6’11–7 foot. Had a vertical out his a*s and was beast man. Had to triple-team dude man. Dude might get you 40 and 40.”
Charles finished his career as an MVP (1993), 11× NBA All-Star (1987–1997), 5× All-NBA First Team (1988–1991, 1993), making the NBA 50th Anniversary Team and NBA 75th Anniversary Team, among other honors.
He couldn’t lift the NBA trophy, but that doesn’t take anything away from Chuck. Still, Garnett has used that against the former player-turned-analyst, calling him ‘a borderline champion’ a couple of years ago.
The respect between them is huge and the way Kevin talks about Chuck perfectly proves that. They belong to the elite when it comes to power forwards and it’s hard to see who can change that. Game recognizes game.
