Charles Barkley exudes a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that’s difficult to fully verbalize. But this quality of his is possibly the reason he has been flourishing with ease on television over the past quarter of a century. Kevin Johnson, his former Suns teammate, spoke on this on the Club520 podcast.
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Besides speaking on Chuck’s nightlife shenanigans, Johnson kept the legend in high regard. He expressed his distaste for Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith having an edge in the Inside the NBA dynamic, or rather, bragging rights over Chuck, because they have won a championship.
“[It] pisses me off every time I see it on TV,” said Johnson, claiming Barkley deserved a title. He added that he would even exchange his own title to bestow it upon Chuck in a heartbeat. Just that, Johnson, like Barkley, never won a championship during his career. Maybe that’s why he feels more for Barkley.
The conversation then took on a political turn when KJ divulged another anecdote. The former Mayor of Sacramento, a Democrat in fact, recalled Chuck discussing with his family whether he should vote Republican and back George Bush. “You can’t vote for Bush. He’s for the rich people,” yelled out one of his family members.
Chuck’s response, according to Johnson, was, “Beg your pardon? I’m rich now.”
It’s unclear if Barkley eventually voted for Bush. However, in 2015, he revealed that he had always voted for the Democratic party. He’s also let it be known that he thinks the entirety of the political sphere is a sham.
“All politics is rich people screwing poor people. Poor people are too stupid to know they’re just chess pieces in a game,” said Barkley in 2016.
While Chuck is known for making heavy statements such as this, he can get away with it for the most part due to his personality. This is what Johnson eventually spoke about: Chuck’s likability as a person.
“He’s not afraid to take a stand on things that may not be politically correct. His role model growing up was Muhammad Ali. And Charles is the modern-day Muhammad Ali. He just has this gift of likability, and you just root for him whether you agree with him or not,” said Johnson.
Barkley’s outspoken nature has earned him a great deal of cache in people’s minds. He does hold a certain level of influence, and he recognizes that. It’s just that he doesn’t have a modicum of care in the world for what people perceive him as.
