When life throws challenges at great people, they somehow figure out a way to overcome them with a little bit of guidance from others. In the case of Charles Barkley, the challenges were limitless, but the ‘guidance’ kicked in once he met Philadelphia 76ers legend Moses Malone, who was his first mentor in the NBA. During a recent conversation with Shannon Sharpe on the Club Shay Shay podcast, Barkley talked about being clueless in his initial years in the NBA and how his life changed after he met Moses Malone.
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Sir Charles told Sharpe during the show that, his numbers at Auburn were phenomenal, and he was one of the best players in the country as well at the time. So, when he got drafted into the league, Barkley thought that the same work ethic would continue to work for him, and he wouldn’t have to make major changes in his lifestyle.
However, Barkley soon faced a rude awakening. Being close to 300 lbs at the time, he started losing playing time and spent a lot of his time on the bench. In hindsight, he said, “College shape ain’t pro shape. It’s a different animal.”
Soon after having a late awakening regarding his fitness, Barkley’s luck factor kicked in as the late 76ers legend decided to take him under his wings. Chuck recalled his interaction with Malone at the time, “Why am I not getting to play? He [Malone] said, ‘Charles, you’re fat and you’re lazy.'”
That’s when Barkley’s fitness journey began. But it wasn’t going to be easy for him to shed 50 lbs. Sir Charles said that Malone broke down the mammoth task into pieces, and that made it really simple for him to follow.
The Chuckster recalled, “He said, ‘Let’s lose 10 lbs’, I said, ‘Okay.’ Then I got to about 290 lbs and then he said, ‘Let’s lose 10 more’. Then I got to 280 lbs and now I’m getting to play.”
Barkley said that Malone kept setting small targets for him so that he can achieve them easily. Malone’s regimen eventually brought a young Sir Charles to 250 lbs. If it wasn’t for the late legend, we might have never known the dominant Barkley we remember today.
Moses Malone was a father figure to Charles Barkley
Since he grew up without the guidance of a father, Barkley feels extremely fortunate that he found one in the NBA legend. Even though he later rekindled his relationship with his biological father, Barkley always had a special place for Malone in his life. Unfortunately, the NBA veteran passed away on September 13, 2015, and his death had a deep impact on Barkley’s life. Because he lost his second father as well.
During an appearance on All The Smoke podcast, Barkley had said, “I was so upset, I stayed in my room the whole day. We weren’t shooting the commercial until the next day. 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.”
Despite living through such challenging times, Chuck believes that he was blessed to have had the special relationship that he shared with Malone.
