When players in the NBA are interviewed, they are almost always very restrained about what they say, barely giving away any sauce. That has never been the case with Charles Barkley. In fact, the problem with him has often been that he is just far too honest with the media. Even during life’s most tumultuous periods, ‘the Chuckster’ never hesitated to speak his mind. And that was exactly the case when he suffered a very serious foot injury.
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The incident in question took place 9 years before the injury that really ended his career. During the 1999-2000 NBA season, Barkley suffered a terrible quad injury, one that he could never quite recover from. He knew that, because after that injury, he returned for just one game before announcing his retirement from the sport. He once revealed his thoughts on the incident as well, focusing on the mental turmoil that he went through.
Charles Barkley’s injury, despite doomsday $16,500,000 fears, saw him miss no more than 15 games
Charles Barkley has stressed over and over again how lucky he is to earn so much money from the NBA. Some may believe that this mentality came with age and wisdom. However, as interviews from his NBA career reveal, he has always had it.
Being around 28 during the 1990-91 NBA season, Barkley was in the prime of his career when he suffered a serious foot injury. There were fears that he would never be the same again, considering his athleticism-centered playstyle. However, ‘The Round Mound of Rebound’, as they called him, wasn’t bothered at all.
When he was asked about it in an interview, Barkley revealed his thoughts on his injury and its ‘worst case scenario’, as per the book, ‘Sir Charles: Wit and Wisdom of Charles Barkley’:
“In the worst case scenario, I’m out five years and they pay me $16.5 million. In the best-case scenario, I play my a** off this year and get a raise.”
Barkley missed just 15 games during that season. Better yet, he arguably had the best regular season of his career, averaging 27.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game, while shooting 57.1% overall.
His numbers didn’t drop much in the postseason either, as he recorded 24.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game, shooting 59.2% from the floor. However, the 76ers failed to make it past the second round, leading Barkley to leave town.
The 1990-91 season was Barkley’s final one with the Philadelphia 76ers
Charles Barkley was fed up with the Philadelphia 76ers during his time there. The franchise had failed to surround him with a team that could win it all. Instead, he was left carrying the franchise pretty much on his own. Unsurprisingly, that only took the 76ers so far.
After demanding a trade, Barkley would be shipped to the Phoenix Suns, where he would go on to become a franchise legend despite losing out to Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals.
After some time, he would head over to the Houston Rockets to team up with Scottie Pippen. But yet again, his efforts to win a ring would end up being fruitless.
