Rocky the Mountain Lion debuted as the Denver Nuggets’ mascot in 1990, and for 30 years, Kenn Solomon held down the mantle in Denver. Solomon’s tenure earned him a spot in the Mascots Hall of Fame and numerous Mascot of the Year awards. However, it also once earned him a left-handed punch from Charles Barkley.
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Long before he was a beloved media personality, Barkley was a short-tempered juggernaut on the hardwood. He had a reputation for fighting players, and even fans when they acted unruly. Rocky was well aware of all of this and still decided to tease the Chuckster. What followed next was unexpected.
Kenn Solomon was on award-winning journalist Pablo Torre’s podcast when he recounted the story. “At the time, Charles was – he was the bad guy, he was making news off the court,” Solomon began.
“One game, as he’s walking around, I kept taunting him a little bit. Like, you know, throwing a little jab as I walked by…And then finally, later in the game, drew a line in the sand – so to speak – on the court. And he’s like, stops, he looks at me. He’s like, ‘It’s cool man, alright, come on, come on, let’s shake on this, let’s shake.'”
“‘Oh okay, great,’ yeah, I walk over, go to shake his hand, he grabs me, pulls me in, boom. Pops me in the face,” Solomon recalled.
The sucker punch stunned Rocky. “My knees buckle, I’m out…My nose is bleeding, my tooth is lose, I’ve got- my lips are bleeding. He hit me,” the 58-year-old added.
In 1993, Barkley was an NBA MVP, but he was gaining national infamy for his drinking and gambling tendencies. However, it’s unlikely that anyone could have predicted how Chuck would go off on the Nuggets’ mascot.
Solomon explained how he later realized that Barkley was also performing for the fans. Their ‘feud’ would continue over the next few years, making the Nuggets a must-see attraction whenever Sir Charles was in town.
The 2023 NBA Finals featured a Rocky vs. Charles Barkley moment
In 2020, Kenn finally stepped down and passed on the Rocky mantle to his son, Drake Solomon. However, Denver’s first NBA Finals appearance in 2023, gave the veteran acrobat an opportunity to end his career on a high note as he returned for one last stint in the suit.
Sir Charles was now in the commentator’s chair but the Nuggets made sure to bring back his feud with Rocky by playing a montage of their best hits (pun intended). Barkley and the Mountain Lion exchanged jerseys during game 2 of the 2023 Finals as a way of burying the hatchet. However, Rocky would soon cover Chuck’s head with the jersey and punch the 11-time All-Star’s head.
The icing on the cake? Solomon’s last game as Denver’s mascot was the Nuggets’ 94-89 win over Miami in Game 5 of the Finals. It meant that Kenn retired as an NBA champion – something he can forever hold against his esteemed rival, Mr. Barkley.
