“Charles Barkley, you wrote the playbook for life after basketball”: Chris Webber thanked the Sixers legend for his sizeable influence on his Hall of Fame career and for his excellence as a sportscaster

Chris Webber thanked a lot of people while giving one of the best Hall of Fame speeches ever. Charles Barkley was among the mentors he thanked.

Chris Webber was one of the greatest players at the power forward position of all time. He combined the post-up skill of Kevin McHale with the court vision of Charles Barkley.

At his peak, Webber powered a perennial Western Conference contender in the Sacramento Kings. C-Webb was the centerpiece of the only successful team in the history of the NorCal team.

Webber may not have won the NBA championship or amassed All-Star selections because of health reasons, but it’s clear that he played basketball at an unbelievably high level for most of his career.

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Chris Webber gave a special shoutout to Charles Barkley during his Hall of Fame induction

The Kings legend chose 2 of the greatest players ever in Isiah Thomas and Chuck to usher him into the Hall of Fame. Webber began his speech by thanking Isiah, who’d been an immense presence on the Detroit basketball scene.

By the end of his speech, he moved to acknowledge at full length how Chuck had influenced his own journey:

“To my man Charles Barkley, I’m honored to have you welcome me into the Hall of Fame. You changed the way the game was played from the power forward position.”

“Personally, you’ve shown me the way in life, more than once. The first time was high school. Rick Mahorn brought you by and I got the chance to meet you. I studied the game, I knew your truth, I knew that attitude.”

“You complimented me and encouraged me and the first time after seeing you, I felt ‘Hey, maybe I can do this if my favorite player says I can.'”

“The second time, I want to thank you on behalf of all athletes for what you’ve done with life after basketball. I’ve never had a gap in being associated with the NBA through over 30 years of playing basketball. And the reason I am in it is because of you. You wrote the playbook.”

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