Charles Barkley, an 11-time All-Star and a former MVP (1993), is a household name in the basketball world. But today’s kids know him as one of the funniest analysts on TV. Some even identify him as Shaquille O’Neal’s shorter friend who constantly tries to wind him up. But those who hung out with Barkley during his heyday on the basketball court know the true nature of the man behind our TV screens. One of them is Cuttino Mobley.
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The Houston Rockets drafted Mobley 41st overall in the 2nd round of the 1998 draft. For the talented young shooting guard, this was the opportunity of a lifetime since he got to play alongside Hakeem Olajuwon, Barkley and his idol Scottie Pippen. But Barkley was simply a different animal back then.
“I love them all. I used to carry this little brown bag and he had money in this bag like a duffel … They would let me hang with them. It was a privilege. I kept my mouth shut and you chill out … When you are rookies, don’t talk,” he revealed on All the Smoke podcast.
He then elaborated on his experience during his time with the Rockets (1998-2004). While kids these days want to talk and be a part of the elite group of athletes, all Cuttino wanted to do was to be a fly on the wall. “Chill out. I don’t care if they asked you a question. Keep it short. Shut up,” he asserted.
It was during this time that his fondness for Barkley grew. Even though Barkley was smart in the way he carried himself on the court, Pippen wished he had taken better care of his body. But Chuck enjoyed his nightlife a lot more.
Still, as far as Cuttino is concerned, Barkley was someone to look up to, even though he could be a bit hotheaded at times.
“I love Chuck, man. If it wasn’t for Chuck, you know … I wouldn’t be where I am. Chuck was just … He was a people’s person. He was always like that. He would sit at a bar and talk to everybody and just be friendly and things like that. And you know, he was about principle too,” he noted.
“You can’t just say anything because he might toss you over the bar and bust in your head. Charles was that type of guy, right?” the former Rockets star mentioned casually.
That said, Cuttinho also didn’t fail to note, “Chuck was a very loving, like just a good dude, man. He’s such a good dude. And I love watching him now, to this day.”
Barkley has certainly come a long way from his days of tossing people over the bar. However, his unforgettable experience on a night in October 1997, following a disappointing first season with the Rockets, refuses to fade from people’s memory.
He was hanging out with Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler when a teenage Jorge Lugo decided to tempt him and throw ice cubes at the table they were sitting at. Barkley, although irritated, did his very best to ignore, knowing that all Lugo and his buddies were trying to do was to start some trouble.
But after being referred to as a “p***y”, Barkley lost his cool. According to an off-duty officer, Jeffrey Williams, who was present at the scene, Lugo was visibly lifted off his feet by a towering Barkley.
“I felt the victim being pulled from my grasp. I looked up and saw [Barkley] holding the victim up in the air by his arms,” he said, noting that mere moments after asking Lugo if he knew who he was, Barkley tossed him through a glass window.
“Flung him like he was a toy,” was how Williams described it to the cops on duty. “You got what you deserve. You don’t disrespect me. I hope you’re hurt,” Barkley is said to have roared on the night.
Well, thankfully, Chuck’s people-flinging days are behind him now!
