Using Roy S Johnson’s help, Charles Barkley had an autobiography written in 1992. In his book titled “Outrageous”, Barkley spoke about a wide range of topics. He had controversial opinions on almost every other topic, but when it came to praising himself, Barkley didn’t shy away, even considering himself “the ninth wonder of the world”.
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Justifying himself, Charles Barkley believed that there would never be any other player quite like him. Even though he was always listed at 6ft 6”, Barkley regarded himself as 6ft 4” and claimed that nobody of that stature could dominate the paint as he did.
“I’m the ninth wonder of the world… The way I’ve got it figured, there will never be another player like me again. There will never be another player who is 6-foot-4 and averages more than 10 rebounds a game, scores inside whenever he wants against bigger opponents and is quicker than most everyone he plays against,” Barkley wrote.
Disagreeing with Chuck might be tough here as he is indeed one of the most unique players the league has ever seen. Standing at 6ft 6”, the undersized forward earned his bread and butter in the paint. Despite being significantly shorter than other players in his position, Sir Charles averaged 11.7 rebounds throughout his career. During the 1986-1987 season, he even won the rebounding title grabbing 14.6 rebounds per game.
Many would find Barkley as an arrogant personality for praising himself, however, backing up his claims, The Round Mound of Rebound went on to win the Most Valuable Player honours only a year after his autobiography came out. During that 1992-1993 season, Barkley averaged 25.6 points and 12.2 rebounds while leading the Suns to the best record in the league.
When Charles Barkley realized that he wasn’t the best player in the world
Charles Barkley was extremely confident in his skills. The claims in his autobiography were merely one of the many occasions when he referred to himself as the best player in the world. Despite not having won even a single title, Barkley continued to believe that there was no one better than him.
But, Chuck had a moment of self-realization during the 1993 Finals series against the Chicago Bulls. Going up against Michael Jordan, Barkley recorded a solid 42-point, 13-rebound double-double in Game 2. Despite his impressive outing, the Phoenix Suns suffered a tough 108-111 loss.
Lauding Michael Jordan for his 42-point, 12-rebound, and 9-assist near triple-double, Barkley finally admitted that there was a player better than him. However, he didn’t let his new opinions be known until a couple of decades after he retired. Back in 2020, during an episode of The Last Dance, Barkley said:
“In Game 2, I played as well as I could play, and Michael just outplayed me. That was probably the first time in my life that I felt like there was a better basketball player in the world than me, to be honest with you.”
Even though Barkley never got his hands on the coveted championship trophy, he is one of the greatest forwards the game has ever seen.
