“Charles Barkley really grabbed 33 rebounds against his former team”: How the ’Round Mound of Rebound’ lived up to his name and demolished the Suns

Charles Barkley once grabbed 33 rebounds against his former team, the Phoenix Suns, while he was on the Houston Rockets. 

Charles Barkley missed an opportunity to win a championship with the Philadelphia 76ers as he was drafted two years too late. Julius Erving and crew made 3 NBA Finals trips in the early 80s and once Chuck made his way to Philly in the 1984 NBA Draft, the aging superstars were more so mentors than title caliber players. 

After forcing his way out of Philadelphia, Charles Barkley became a Phoenix Sun. In his first season with the Suns, Barkley not only won league MVP over Michael Jordan, but he also took the Suns to the NBA Finals that very same year. Of course, they would be bested by the Bulls in 6 games.

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After 4 seasons with the Suns, Barkley made his way to the Houston Rockets, yet another team that had won a championship a couple years prior to him being on the roster. With him, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Clyde Drexler on the same squad, it was looking as though the Larry O’Brien ran through Houston, even before the defending champions in Chicago. 

Charles Barkley grabbed 33 rebounds against the Suns. 

Most NBA fans today know Charles Barkley as the quick-witted basketball analyst for TNT but what they don’t know about him is that there is a definitive reason as to why he’s one of the 75 greatest players to have ever stepped foot on NBA hardwood.

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In merely his second game as a Houston Rocket, Sir Charles went off for 20 points and a whopping 33 rebounds. These 33 rebounds would be more than the entirety of the Suns team for all 48 minutes of the game. 

Barkley finished the game with 8 offensive rebounds, equaling that of the Suns and 25 defensive rebounds, 3 more than the Suns.

The Rockets would finish with a 57-25 record on 1996-97 while the Suns without Charles Barkley would win one less game that same season in comparison to their last season with Chuck.