Despite finishing his career as one of the best NBA players in history, Charles Barkley did not consider the league as a feasible career option in the early days of his career. However, his future changed when his college coach, Roger Banks, instilled confidence in him that he could really accomplish something few athletes could at the time.
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Barkley talked about his early days in basketball during his appearance on The Mark Jackson Show. It turns out that, comparing his rebounding stats to the NBA players at the time really changed the Chuckster’s outlook at the time.
He said,
“One of my coaches, Roger Banks, he said, ‘Son, you know what you’re doing?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘You’re leading the SEC in rebounding as a freshman. I said, ‘Anybody can get 10 rebounds a night.'”
“He pulls out an NBA stat sheet and he says, ‘Yeah, there’s seven guys in the NBA averaging double figures. If you can get me 10-11 rebounds a night, you’re going to play in the NBA forever.'”
After that, Barkley started focusing on his rebounds consistently and came to be known as ‘The Round Mound of Rebounding’. That made up for his mediocre scoring stats in college. Sir Charles would retire with 12,546 rebounds in the league, that’s an average of 11.7 per game.
Growing up in poverty, Barkley understood that he needed to find a way to make a living. His mindset at the time of entering college was, “You know what, get a damn job, boy.” But the push from Banks is what Barkley needed to put his full effort into basketball.
In each of his three seasons at Auburn, he led the SEC in rebounding. Despite his 6-foot-4 stature, his competitiveness on the court made Barkley a good prospect.
Banks’ prophecies came true as Barkley was picked fifth overall in the 1984 NBA Draft.
Barkley flourished in the NBA
Barkley’s career did not last forever, as Banks had promised, but he did spend a significant amount of time in the NBA. The Suns icon lasted 16 years in the NBA and won every coveted individual award imaginable.
He earned selections to 11 All-NBA and All-Star teams during his career. Additionally, Barkley earned the MVP award of the 1991 NBA All-Star Game after scoring 17 points and grabbing 22 rebounds. In his first season with the Suns in 1993, he won the league MVP title as well.
The one thing Barkley did not win during his career was an NBA championship. In his MVP season, he guided Phoenix to their second Finals appearance in franchise history. However, the franchise did not have enough to defeat Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the Finals.
