Charles Barkley had an innate desire to win at least one ring during his career. Unfortunately, Chuck couldn’t fulfill this dream during his 16-year-long career in the NBA. There have been several times Chuck was close to winning the league title, like in the 1993 Finals. His drive was evident even in 1997 when the Houston Rockets swept Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs. Reminiscing about this incident 20 years later, Kevin Garnett still vividly remembers everything. In a Q&A session, Garnett discusses the unexpected advice he received from Barkley, who had just played one of the best games of his life.
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On the other hand, Charles Barkley’s diss at Kevin Garnett seemed to backfire hilariously on national television. Chuck tried making a hilarious jab at KG by calling him a ‘borderline Hall of Famer.’ However, this backfired badly upon him when Garnett reminded Chuck was ‘almost a NBA champion.’
Kevin Garnett reminisced about one of his shocking moments with Charles Barkley
Kevin Garnett facing Charles Barkley’s Houston Rockets in the 1997 Playoffs was probably one of the most awakening moments of his career. Chuck was in no mood to give up on the ring that year after letting it slip against Michael Jordan in 1993. In a Q&A session, Kevin Garnett revealed in the KG Certified podcast what Chuck told him after the 1997 sweep. He was shown a picture of Charles Barkley in 1996, pushing his team for the playoffs. Reminiscing about the same, KG said:
“This is in ’96 when he actually pulled Step and I out to the side after they beat us, actually swept us. And we were just so eager to be in the Playoffs, so happy to be in the Playoffs. But he was like, ‘Hey, we needed this one. You guys got a million years to be able to get you one. Every great players, every great team, has to go through sometype of something to be able to get to something.’ And were were like ‘I don’t wanna hear this s**t. ‘ But he was like grabbing us. Like, ‘Come here!’ His arm is around, you know what I’m saying? I was shocked that Chuck did that.”
Charles Barkley was playing as dominant as ever in the game. He had his face turning around defenders and elbows high against them. Despite such exemplary performance, KG was shocked to notice Chuck pull him aside and give his word of advice.
“He gave us his advice and I was shocked at that. But there was some brotherly love that I always remembered and always thanked him for that off the court.”
Unfortunately, Charles Barkley could never win any ring in his career. Perhaps luck never favored Chuck in the Playoffs and the Finals despite such desperate attempts and plays. However, his stats as one of the game’s best rebounders make him an NBA legend of all time.
Garnett has a lot of respect for his idol Barkley
The above incident was indeed a shocker for Kevin Garnett. Getting unexpected advice from his idol Charles Barkley was indeed one of the iconic moments of KG’s career. Speaking highly of Sir Charles, KG regards Barkley as one of the toughest players he has ever played against. An article from Basketball Network notes Garnett saying,
“Facing Chuck was different. It was like playing chess. There was a mental aspect ot it. The more I studied him, the more I was influenced by his psyche. I also looked up to him because he said I shouldn’t look up to him. I am not your role model, he announced in that famous Nike commercial. Damn, that shit was dope. When I played against Chuck, he didn’t want no conversation with me about anything. Chuck denies it, but he didn’t like me when I first came up.”
KG himself based his style on being inspired by Charles Barkley. Coming to the NBA right after high school in 1995, KG easily dropped around 25 points and 15 rebounds. Over the years, he outpaced his idol, winning the NBA title in 2008.
