 Barkley on Inside the NBA. | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Born | February 20, 1963 Leeds, Alabama | |
| Nationality |  American
| |
| Physical stats | ||
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | |
| Listed weight | 251 lbs (114 kg) | |
| Career information | ||
| High school | Leeds High School (AL) | |
| College | Auburn | |
| NBA Draft | 1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5 | |
| Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers | ||
| Playing career: | 1984–2000 (16 years) | |
| Position | Power forward | |
| Jersey no. | 34, 32, 4 | |
| Career history | ||
| 1984–1992 | Philadelphia 76ers | |
| 1992–1996 | Phoenix Suns | |
| 1996–2000 | Houston Rockets | |
| Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American retired basketball player who is currently a television sports analyst on the tv program Inside the NBA.
Nicknamed Chuck, Sir Charles and The Round Mound of Rebound, Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's most dominant power forwards. An All-American power forward at Auburn University, he was drafted as a junior by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 5th pick of the 1984 NBA draft. Due to the fact that Sixers were only able to offer him a minimum Rookie contract, Barkley started intensely eating a few days before the draft, with the intention of gaining lots of weight to scare the Sixers out of drafting him. He was in dismay when the Sixers drafted him anyway.
He was selected to the All-NBA First Team five times, the All-NBA Second Team five times, and once to the All-NBA Third Team. He earned eleven NBA All-Star Game appearances and was named the All-Star MVP in 1991. In 1993 with the Phoenix Suns, he was voted the league's Most Valuable Player while also making the finals that year, and during the NBA's 50th anniversary, named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games and won two gold medals as a member of the United States' "Dream Team". Barkley is a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2006 for his individual career, and in 2010 as a member of the "Dream Team".
Barkley was popular with the fans and media and made the NBA's All-Interview Team for his last 13 seasons in the league due to his humour and wit. He was frequently involved in on- and off-court fights and sometimes stirred national controversy, as in March 1991 when he spat on a young girl while attempting to spit at a heckler, and as in 1993 when he declared that sports figures should not be considered role models. In 1997, after a man threw a jug of beer at him in a nightclub, Barkley retaliated by throwing the man out of the window, a decision he later stated he didn't regret. Though shorter than the typical power forward, Barkley used his strength and aggressiveness to become one of the NBA's most dominant rebounders. He was a versatile player who had the ability to score, create plays, and defend. In 2000, he retired as the fourth player in NBA history to achieve 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists.
Since retiring as a player, Barkley has had a successful career as an NBA analyst. He works with Turner Network Television (TNT) alongside of Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson as a studio pundit for its coverage of NBA games and is a spokesman for CDW. In addition, Barkley has written several books and has shown an interest in politics. In October 2008, he announced that he would run for Governor of Alabama in 2014, but he changed his mind in 2010.