Charles Barkley reflects on how Moses Malone impacted his NBA Career by helping him to get in shape during his rookie year with the Philadelphia 76ers.
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Charles Barkley, as he claims, is one of the shortest rebounding champions in NBA history. He is arguably one of the greatest players to never win a championship. He was named Most Valuable Player in 1993 and made it to the All-NBA team 11 times in his career.
He appeared on ‘The ETCs with Kevin Durant‘ podcast where he discussed several things ranging from his NBA career to making the NBA75 list. In addition, Charles explained his distaste for social media and why he stays away from it. Barkley expressed his gratitude toward Moses Malone, Dr. J, and other NBA legends who shaped his career in different ways.
Barkley was the #5 overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft, selected by the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite being one of the top picks that year, he didn’t get considerable playing time with the sixers in his early days. His bulky stature was to blame for this. Although he didn’t face any difficulties in college, the NBA was on a different level altogether as Barkley puts it.
Charles Barkley says Moses Malone and Dr. J shaped his NBA career
College success didn’t automatically turn into NBA success for Charles Barkley. The Philadelphia 76ers played him off the bench initially and Barkley was unable to figure out why he didn’t get enough playing time. In the podcast, he recalls the conversation he had with Moses Malone after practice one day which ultimately motivated him to lose weight.
“I get there and I’m the no. 5th pick in the draft and I’m not getting any playtime to be honest with you. Moses lived in the same building as me so I asked him ‘if I can come up and talk to you about the practice”. That’s when Moses Malone gave Charles Barkley his career-defining advice. He told Barkley “You’re fat and you’re lazy. Charles you cannot play basketball in the NBA being 290-300 pounds, the guys here are too good.”
Malone offered to help him before and after practice to shed some pounds and get into NBA shape. They worked together tirelessly in his rookie season and Barkley lost 45 pounds which earned him more playing time and a starting spot with the sixers.
Julius Randle, popularly known as Dr. J, gave Barkley invaluable financial advice. He remains grateful to them even today. Even though he retired without a ring, he had 16 glorious years in the league and retired as the fourth player in NBA history to amass 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 4000 assists.
