Charles Barkley may not have won an NBA championship, but he is undoubtedly one of the best ever to play in the league. His competitive, ‘never say die’ attitude helped him to thrive through difficulties, eventually helping his net worth grow to $60,000,000. Despite all his achievements(the biggest one being overcoming poverty and adversity), his lack of a ring always irked him. Even four years before losing to the Michael Jordan-led Bulls in the NBA Finals, his quote to the media helped people understand the intense mental environment he was in regarding winning a Championship.
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Before this mentality took over his body, Barkley didn’t show much interest in winning at all. In fact, in 1989, during his time with the 76ers, the ‘Round Mound of Rebound’ was one of the laziest players in the NBA. Fortunately for him, things wouldn’t be that way for long.
Charles Barkley wanted to win badly years before his NBA Finals loss
It may be easy to forget now, considering his bubbly personality today, however, during his prime, Barkley was one of the most intense players in the NBA. And his quote to the media as to winning a Championship reflected just that. The fearlessness to go against anybody. Here is what the Chuckster said to the New York Times in 1989, as quoted in his book, ‘Sir Charles: Wit and Wisdom of Charles Barkley’.
“Unless you win a championship or go deep into the playoffs, I look at the season as a waste. You put nine months of your life into the season. Winning is the only thing that makes it worthwhile.”
Barkley would later go on to face Michael Jordan in the 1993 NBA Finals, going toe-to-toe with the GOAT in the memorable series. However, as fate would have it, the Bulls would take this one in 6 games, leaving the Suns empty-handed, despite their stellar performance.
Unfortunately for the 1993 MVP, this would be the only NBA Finals appearance of his career.
Barkley did give it one last shot
Charles Barkley’s Suns were a good team, however, he needed a better one to win a chip. So, during the 1996-97 season, he joined the Houston Rockets to team up with all-time greats Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, the superstars of the team were all nearing the dusk of their careers. In two seasons, the squad failed to make the NBA Finals. Reaching the Conference finals in the first year, before losing out in the first round next season. They fell to the Utah Jazz on both occasions.
Following this, Clyde Drexler retired from the NBA, which led the Rockets to acquire Scottie Pippen in his place. But yet again, Houston would bow out in the first round, this time to the LA Lakers.
Barkley did all he could to win an NBA championship. But, it just never seemed to be on the cards for him.
