Charles Wade Barkley was born on February 20,1963 and is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT and CBS Sports.
120 Facts About Charles Barkley
2.
Charles Barkley was a versatile player who had the ability to score, create plays, and defend.
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Charles Barkley was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.
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An All-American power forward at Auburn University, Charles Barkley was drafted as a junior by the Philadelphia 76ers with the fifth pick of the 1984 NBA draft.
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Charles Barkley was named the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1991, and in 1993 with the Phoenix Suns, he was voted the league's MVP.
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Charles Barkley competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, winning two gold medals as a member of the US national team.
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Charles 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".
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Charles Barkley was popular with the fans and media and made the NBA's All-Interview Team for his last 13 seasons in the league.
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Charles Barkley 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 1993 when he declared that sports figures should not be considered role models.
10.
Since retiring as a player, Charles Barkley has had a successful career as an NBA analyst.
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Charles Barkley was born and raised in Leeds, Alabama, 17 miles east of Birmingham.
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Charles Barkley was the first black baby born at a segregated, all-white town hospital and was in the first group of black students at his elementary school.
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Charles Barkley's parents divorced when he was young after his father abandoned the family, which included younger brother Darryl Barkley.
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Charles Barkley's mother remarried and they had a son, John Glenn.
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Charles Barkley's stepfather was killed in an accident when Charles was 11 years old.
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Charles Barkley failed to make the varsity team and was named as a reserve.
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Charles Barkley was recruited by Smith and majored in business management while attending Auburn University.
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Charles Barkley became a popular crowd-pleaser, exciting the fans with dunks and blocked shots that belied his lack of height and overweight frame.
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Charles Barkley received numerous awards, including Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, three All-SEC selections and one Second Team All-American selection.
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Later, Charles Barkley was named the SEC Player of the Decade for the 1980s by the Birmingham Post-Herald.
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Charles Barkley was one of 74 college players invited to the spring tryouts for the 1984 US Olympic team coached by Bob Knight.
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In 2010, Charles Barkley admitted that he asked for, and had been given, money from sports agents during his career at Auburn.
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Charles Barkley left before his final year at Auburn and made himself eligible for the 1984 NBA draft.
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Charles Barkley was selected with the fifth pick in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers, two slots after the Chicago Bulls drafted Michael Jordan.
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Charles Barkley joined a veteran team that included Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Maurice Cheeks, players who took Philadelphia to the 1983 NBA championship.
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Under the tutelage of Malone, Charles Barkley was able to manage his weight and learned to prepare and condition himself properly for a game; Charles Barkley cited Malone as the most influential player of his career, and he often referred to him as "Dad".
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Charles Barkley averaged 14.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during the regular season and earned a berth on the All-Rookie Team.
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Charles Barkley became the Sixers' starting power forward and helped lead his team into the playoffs, averaging 25.0 points on.
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Charles Barkley earned his first and only rebounding title, averaging 14.6 rebounds per game and led the league in offensive rebounds with 5.7 per game.
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Charles Barkley appeared in his second All-Star Game and was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career.
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Charles Barkley earned his third straight All-Star Game appearance and was named to the All-NBA First team for the second straight season.
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Charles Barkley was named Player of the Year by The Sporting News and Basketball Weekly.
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Charles Barkley averaged 25.2 points and 11.5 rebounds per game and a career-high.
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Charles Barkley was named to the All-NBA First Team for the third consecutive year and earned his fourth All-Star selection.
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Charles Barkley helped Philadelphia win 53 regular-season games, only to lose to the Chicago Bulls in a five-game Eastern Conference Semi-finals series.
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Charles Barkley averaged 24.7 points and 15.5 rebounds in another postseason loss.
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Charles Barkley was presented with Most Valuable Player honors at the All-Star Game and, at the end of the season, named to the All-NBA First Team for the fourth straight year.
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Charles Barkley led Philadelphia in rebounding and field-goal percentage for seven consecutive seasons and in scoring for six straight years.
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Charles Barkley was initially traded to the Los Angeles Lakers before the end of the season, but the 76ers wound up retracting their deal a few hours later.
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Charles Barkley had his own signature shoe line with Nike.
41.
On March 26,1991, during a game versus the New Jersey Nets, Charles Barkley attempted to spit on a fan who was allegedly heckling with racial slurs, but the result was his spit hitting a young girl.
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Rod Thorn, the NBA's president of operations at the time, suspended Charles Barkley, without pay, for one game and fined him $10,000 for spitting and verbally abusing the fan.
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Charles Barkley eventually developed a friendship with the girl and her family.
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Charles Barkley apologized and, among other things, provided them tickets to future games.
45.
Charles Barkley became the third player ever to win league MVP honors in the season immediately after being traded, established multiple career highs and led Phoenix to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1976.
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Charles Barkley averaged 26.6 points and 13.6 rebounds per game during the whole postseason, including 27.3 points, 13.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game throughout the championship series.
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Charles Barkley was selected to his eighth consecutive All-Star Game, but did not play because of a torn right quadriceps tendon, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team.
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Charles Barkley struggled during the first half of the season, but managed to gradually improve, earning his ninth consecutive appearance in the All-Star Game.
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Charles Barkley led the team in scoring, rebounds and steals, averaging 23.3 points on.
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Charles Barkley became just the tenth player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in their career.
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Dan Quayle, the former Vice President of the United States, called it a "family-values message" for Charles Barkley's oft-ignored call for parents and teachers to quit looking to him to "raise your kids" and instead be role models themselves.
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Charles Barkley's message sparked a great public debate about the nature of role models.
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Charles Barkley joined a veteran team that included two of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
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Charles Barkley continued to battle injuries throughout the season and played only 53 games, missing 14 because of a laceration and bruise on his left pelvis, 11 because of a sprained right ankle, and four due to suspensions.
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Charles Barkley became the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 19.2 points on.
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Charles Barkley averaged 17.9 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in another postseason loss.
57.
Limited by injuries, Charles Barkley played four games in the series and averaged career lows of 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game.
58.
Charles Barkley became the second player in NBA history, following Wilt Chamberlain, to accumulate 23,000 points, 12,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists in his career.
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Charles Barkley concluded his postseason career averaging 23 points on.
60.
Charles Barkley accomplished what he set out to do after being activated from the injured list, and walked off the court to a standing ovation.
61.
Charles Barkley was invited by Bob Knight to try out for United States men's basketball team for the 1984 Summer Olympics.
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Charles Barkley made it all the way to final cuts, but was not selected for the team, despite outplaying almost all of the front-court players there.
63.
Charles Barkley competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games and won two gold medals as a member of the United States men's basketball team.
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Charles Barkley was called for an intentional foul on the play.
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At the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games, Charles Barkley led the team in scoring, rebounds, and field goal percentage.
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Charles Barkley played the power forward position, but occasionally played small forward and center.
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Charles Barkley was known for his unusual build as a basketball player, stockier than most small forwards, yet shorter than most power forwards he faced.
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However, Charles Barkley was still capable of outplaying both taller and quicker opponents because of his unusual combination of strength and agility.
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Charles Barkley was a prolific scorer who averaged 22.1 points per game during the regular season for his career and 23.0 points per game in the playoffs for his career.
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Charles Barkley was one of the NBA's most versatile players and accurate scorers capable of scoring from anywhere on the court and established himself as one of the NBA's premier clutch players.
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Charles Barkley topped the NBA in offensive rebounding for three straight years and was most famous among very few power forwards who could control a defensive rebound, dribble the length of the court and finish at the rim with a powerful dunk.
72.
Charles Barkley possessed considerable defensive talents led by an aggressive demeanor, foot speed and his capacity to read the floor to anticipate for steals, a reason why he established his career as the second All-Time leader in steals for the power forward position and leader of the highest all-time steal per game average for the power forward position.
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Charles Barkley was arrested for breaking a man's nose during a fight after a game with the Milwaukee Bucks and for throwing a man through a plate-glass window in Orlando, after being struck with a glass of ice.
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Charles Barkley continues to be popular with the fans and media.
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Charles Barkley employed a physical style of play that earned him the nicknames "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound".
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Charles Barkley was named to the All-NBA team eleven times and earned two gold medals as a member of the United States Olympic Basketball team.
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Charles Barkley retired as one of only four players in NBA history to record at least 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists in their career.
78.
In recognition of his achievements as a player, Charles Barkley was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
79.
In October 2021, as part of the NBA's 75th Anniversary, Charles Barkley was honored as one of the 75 greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.
80.
Charles Barkley married Maureen Blumhardt in 1989, and in the same year, the couple had a daughter named Christiana.
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Charles Barkley's daughter was named after the Christiana Mall in Delaware.
82.
Since 2000, Charles Barkley has served as a studio analyst for Turner Network Television.
83.
Charles Barkley appears on the network's NBA coverage during pre-game and halftime shows, in addition to special NBA events.
84.
Charles Barkley is part of the crew on Inside the NBA, a post-game show during which Barkley, Ernie Johnson Jr.
85.
Charles Barkley has won four Sports Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Studio Analyst" for his work on TNT.
86.
Charles Barkley was known for being the first-ever celebrity guest picker for College GameDay, in 2004.
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Since 2011, Charles Barkley has served as a studio analyst for the joint coverage of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament between Turner Sports and CBS.
88.
Charles Barkley served as a guest commentator for NBC's coverage of the NFL Wild Card playoffs on January 7,2012; the same night he hosted Saturday Night Live, which is taped next door to the Football Night in America studio in Manhattan's GE Building.
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Charles Barkley announced in November 2012 that he was contemplating retirement from broadcasting.
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Charles Barkley later said that he wants to retire when he is 60 in 2023.
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In October 2022, Charles Barkley signed a 10-year contract extension with Warner Bros.
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In May 2008, the Wynn Las Vegas casino filed a civil complaint against Charles Barkley, alleging that he failed to pay a $400,000 debt stemming from October 2007.
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Charles Barkley responded by taking blame for letting time lapse on the repayment of the debt and promptly paid the casino.
94.
Charles Barkley began playing golf during his NBA career, later staying with the sport as it was a way to remain in competition after his basketball career ended.
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Charles Barkley is a regular competitor at the American Century Championship pro-am tournament, regularly finishing near the bottom of the leaderboard.
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Charles Barkley is widely regarded as a poor golfer with a particularly bad swing; he later underwent training to improve his swing, which led to an improved performance in the 2021 American Century Championship.
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Charles Barkley participated in Champions for Change, the third iteration of The Match.
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Charles Barkley spoke for many years of his Republican Party affiliation.
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In September 2006, Charles Barkley reiterated his desire to run for governor.
100.
In September 2007, during a broadcast on Monday Night Football, Charles Barkley announced that he bought a house in Alabama to satisfy residency requirements for a 2014 campaign for governor.
101.
In February 2008, Charles Barkley announced that he would be running for Governor of Alabama in 2014 as an Independent.
102.
Previously, in 2013, Charles Barkley expressed his agreement with the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin shooting.
103.
In 2014, when Charles Barkley was asked about the rumor that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was being accused for not being "black enough" on the radio show Afternoons with Anthony and Rob Ellis, he said:.
104.
Charles Barkley has been known as a critic of President Donald Trump from as early as his Republican nomination in the 2016 US presidential election.
105.
In September 2017, when President Trump called out former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for his kneeling during the US National Anthem during the 2016 NFL season, Charles Barkley expressed his complete disappointment in President Trump.
106.
Charles Barkley supported Democrat Doug Jones in the 2017 United States Senate special election in Alabama.
107.
Editorial choices made by Johnson in the book led to Charles Barkley famously quipping that he had been misquoted in his own autobiography.
108.
In 2000, Charles Barkley wrote the foreword for Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly's book The Life of Reilly.
109.
Charles Barkley played himself in the 1996 film Space Jam.
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Charles Barkley made a brief appearance in the TV series Suits, in episode 3 of the fifth season.
111.
Charles Barkley was seen taking pictures with a client that was stolen from Jack Soloff, by the great Harvey Specter.
112.
Charles Barkley hosted Saturday Night Live on four separate occasions between 1993 and 2018.
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On December 31,2008, Charles Barkley was pulled over in Scottsdale, Arizona for running a stop sign.
114.
Charles Barkley was arrested on drunk driving charges and had his vehicle impounded.
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Charles Barkley refused to submit a breath test and was given a blood test.
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Gilbert police noted Charles Barkley was cooperative and respectful during the entire incident, adding that he was treated no differently than anyone arrested on DUI charges.
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Test results released by the police showed that Charles Barkley had a blood-alcohol level at.
118.
Two months after his arrest, Charles Barkley pleaded guilty to two DUI-related counts and one count of running a red light.
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Charles Barkley was sentenced to ten days in jail and fined $2,000.
120.
The sentence was later reduced to three days after Charles Barkley entered an alcohol treatment program.