Charles Barkley was undoubtedly one of the most talented players in the 1984 NBA Draft class. He was picked 5th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers and it was clear during his college days that he deserved to be picked that high up the draft.
Advertisement
Chuck joined a team that has already proven itself to be a championship contender and he was brought on to bolster the frontcourt with MVP, Moses Malone. Barkley was the ‘next man up’ to carry on the Sixers legacy as Julius Erving and Malone slowly faded due to their age.
However, there was one glaring problem that stood in Chuck’s way to greatness in the NBA. He was too heavy for his height. He may be listed at 6’6 but he’s admitted that he’s shorter than Michael Jordan who is also 6’6, and was closer to 6’4 and a half at best.
Charles Barkley on how Moses Malone saved his life
Charles Barkley weighed over 300lbs as he entered his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers. On top of being overweight for a professional athlete set to earn millions of dollars, he had no motivation to shed that weight as he knew he was a valuable player due to his high draft position.
It would be none other than Moses Malone, the Sixers’ elder statesman, who came to Barkley’s rescue. The hardnosed champion made sure Sir Charles stuck to a diet and weight loss regimen that allowed him to shed weight equivalent to 50lbs, bringing him into the 250lb range.
Malone was signed to Nike at the time and the way he got convinced to help out Barkley was through legendary Nike executive, Howard White. On the ‘Steam Room Podcast’, Ben Affleck asked Barkley about this and Chuck credited him with ‘saving his life’.
“He saved my life. At the time I was 300lbs and Moses, who I call ‘dad’, made me lose 50lbs. it changed the whole dynamic of my life and my career. I played at 300lbs in college with great success but you can’t play in the NBA at 300lbs. Him [Howard] hooking me up with Moses changed the entire trajectory of my career.”
