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CHARLES BARKLEY |
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| Future Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has
brought vitality, attitude and a host of skills to professional
basketball. Viewed as an oddity when he entered the league, Barkley has
matured into one of the league's most respected, awe-inspiring and
recognizable individuals. A perennial All-NBA selection, he won the NBA
Most Valuable Player Award in 1993 but has yet to win an NBA
Championship. At 6-6 and 252 pounds (leaner than in his college days),
Barkley has an unusual build for a basketball player and is undersized
for power forward. He nevertheless can outmaneuver and outsmart bigger
players and can overpower smaller opponents. He is fluid on the break, a
powerful jumper, a deadeye shooter from any angle and one of those rare
talents who performs better in the clutch. In addition, Barkley has
managed to be outspoken and outrageous but likable all the same. In his
three-year college career at Auburn, Barkley averaged 9.6 rebounds and
became known as "the Round Mound of Rebound" for his heft and
his hunger for caroms. He was the Southeastern Conference Player of the
Year in 1984 but didn't make the U.S. Olympic basketball team that
season. He entered the 1984 NBA Draft as a junior and was taken by the
Philadelphia 76ers with the fifth overall pick. Since averaging 14.0
points and 8.6 rebounds as a rookie, Barkley has posted averages of 20
or more points and at least 10 rebounds per game for 11 seasons and
counting. His achievements during that span are remarkable. He was an
All-NBA First Team selection in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1993, an
All-NBA Second Team pick in 1986, 1987, 1992, 1994 and 1995 and an
All-NBA Third Team choice in 1996. He has been selected to 10
consecutive All-Star Games, received more All-Star votes than any other
player in 1994, and was MVP in the 1991 All-Star classic. In 1986-87 he
led the NBA in rebounding (14.6 rpg), and the next year he finished
fourth in scoring (28.3 ppg). He topped the NBA in offensive rebounding
for three straight years and is among the league's all-time leaders in
field goal percentage. He scored 56 points in a single playoff game in
1994, the third-highest total ever. In 1992 he was part of the original
U.S. Olympic Dream Team that won a gold medal in Barcelona, and in 1996
he was part of the Dream Team that won a gold medal at Atlanta. Barkley
spent eight seasons in Philadelphia. The 76ers' best showing during his
tenure with them was a five-game loss to the Boston Celtics in the 1985
Eastern Conference Finals after the Sixers went 58-24 in the regular
season. When the team failed to make the postseason in 1991-92, Barkley
was involved in one of the most significant trades in recent memory.
Philadelphia traded him to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jeff
Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang. Unhappy in his last years in
Philadelphia, Barkley found new life in Phoenix. He had a magical first
season with the Suns, winning the NBA MVP Award while leading Phoenix to
the league's best record and a berth in the 1993 NBA Finals. The Suns
lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in a memorable six-game
series. Over the next two seasons Barkley struggled with nagging
injuries, and the Suns struggled with him. They reached the conference
semifinals in 1994 and 1995 but lost to the Houston Rockets both years.
Barkley bounced back with a big season in 1995-96, but the Suns dipped
to 41-41. Changes seemed inevitable for a franchise that had come close
to the championship but fallen short. On August 19, 1996, Barkley was
traded again. This time, the destination was Houston, where he joined
stars Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexel on a team with title aspirations.
For the Suns, the trade meant instant rebuilding, as it brought them
promising young players Sam Cassell and Robert Horry and veterans Chucky
Brown and Mark Bryant. For Barkley, it was one more, and perhaps last,
chance to achieve the one thing that has escaped him: an NBA
championship. It didn't happen in 1996-97, as the Rockets were
eliminated by the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Finals.
Charles Barkley and his wife Maureen have a daughter named Christina. Barkley regularly plays on Celebrity Golf Association Tour tournaments in golf. His books (autobiographies) are "Outrageous!" (w/ Roy Johnson), and "Wit & Wisdom of Charles Barkley" (w/ Rick Reily). When Chuck is done with his playing career, he wishes to pursue politics and/or broadcasting. Charles also has 2 Olympic Gold Medals (92/96). He even hosted Saturday Night Live on 9-25-93! This year, Houston finished 41-41, fourth in the Midwest division, almost stunning the Utah Jazz in the First Round. Chuck finished 5th in double-doubles (42), and 6th in triple (1), averaging 11.7 RPG. Once again, he was named to the 1997-98 NBA All-Interview First Team. **DID YOU KNOW?** That Barkley has appeared in movies like "Space Jam", and "He Got Game"? |
| http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Stadium/7858/cb4.html |
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constructed by, Allen Harris |
