NBA legend Charles Barkley has lived one of the greatest rags-to-riches stories to come out of the NBA. Born in Leeds, Alabama, Sir Charles would’ve never thought that he would go on to be recognized as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. While the 61-year-old has accomplished more than everything he set out to, his childhood was filled with struggles. After his parents got divorced when he was young, Chuck always had bitterness toward his father as he left the family after the separation. During a recent appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s ‘Club Shay Shay’, Barkley sat down to reminisce over some things from his past, including a strained relationship with his father.
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Shaq stated that he was blessed to have a great mother and grandmother who never allowed him to feel less than other kids around him. However, it wasn’t easy for him after his father left. To overcome that situation, his mother and grandmother worked really hard to fill in on the role of a father. He said,
“Yo, we had everything we needed. We never went hungry, we always had good clothing and I was so blessed to have a great mother and grandmother.”
Even though he doesn’t regret anything from his childhood, Barkley was unhappy because of his father’s absence. The NBA veteran acknowledged that he grew up holding a grudge against him. However, with age and time, he realized that it wouldn’t help anyone if he continued to hate his father, so Barkley decided to mend that relationship.
He said, “I didn’t need a dad by the time we reconnected, but I buried the hatchet because you can’t go through life being angry, because it just weighs you down.” Even though Chuck never had a father around him growing up, he found a similar figure due to the sport he loved the most.
Charles Barkley found a father figure in Moses Malone
Barkley’s mother and grandmother raised him. However, when he entered the NBA, a young Barkley found a father figure in the late legend Moses Malone. During an appearance on ‘All The Smoke’ podcast, the Round Mound of Rebound talked about his relationship with Malone. He said,
“For that guy to take me under his wing, he was already one of the best to ever do it, for him to take a little fat kid under his wing. It changed my whole life. That’s why I always call him dad.”
Malone unfortunately passed away on September 13, 2015, at the age of 60 and that really affected Barkley on a personal level. He said, “I stayed in my room and called my closest friends and said, ‘This is such a f***ed-up situation.’ It was one of the worst days of my life.”
Even though the Suns legend never won a ring, he matched up with the likes of Michael Jordan in his career and took his team to the NBA Finals in 1993. From growing up without a father to rekindling his blood relationship and finding a father figure in another NBA legend, Barkley ended up having it all in this lifetime.
