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It’s kind of ironic how successful Charles Barkley has been as an announcer because it somewhat overshadows what a brilliant basketball player he was.
Born and raised in Leeds, Alabama, Barkley trained partly by jumping over a five-foot fence repeatedly.
He also ate and ate and ate, and by the time he got to Auburn, he weighed about 300 lbs.
When he got to Philadelphia, Moses Malone told him that he was fat and lazy which led to Barkley (who reportedly ate even more than usual to keep Philadelphia from drafting him - it didn’t work) dropping 50 lbs. and heading to immortality.
He was only 6-5, but he became one of the greatest power forwards of all time. He leveraged his strength, quickness and leaping ability to punish much taller players. Watching him grab a rebound and take it coast-to-coast was basketball nirvana.
He also played on the Dream Team in 1992 and again in 1996.
Still, his outsized personality at times overshadowed his greatness, just as it obscures it now. That’s too bad, because Barkley was an amazing basketball player.
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