Charles Barkley might be the crop of multiple jokes on Inside the NBA right now, but in the early 90s, Chuck was a different beast.
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While he only had a 6’6″ frame, Barkley was one of the most dominant forwards in his prime. Despite having a certain disadvantage against the forwards in the 80s and the early 90s, Barkley was a scoring machine and, uncharacteristically, was one of the most tenacious rebounding forwards.
‘Sir Charles’ not only was a superstar on the court, but he was also a fan favorite off of it. Averaging 22.1 points, 3.9 assists, and 11.1 rebounds per game, there is no surprise why Barkley was included in the top 75 players of the NBA ever.
When Charles Barkley took over in the 1993 playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs
Although the Phoenix Suns led by Charles Barkley were a dominant force in the 1993 playoffs, the Western Conference also had some great times like the San Antonio Spurs.
Led by the likes of ‘the Admiral’ David Robinson and forward Dale Ellis, the Spurs were a scary team to face off in the West. So when the Suns faced off against the Spurs, fans had a spectacle to look forward to.
With a back-and-forth battle, the series was tied 2-2 between the Spurs and the Suns. Having home-court advantage, Barkley and Phoenix hoped to dominate and take a much-needed lead in the series. But the Suns could only take a 2-point lead going into the second half.
Even ‘the Chuckster’ was having a quiet game, scoring only 8 points in the first half. But Barkley was certainly determined to make an impact in the second half and impact he had. Scoring a whopping 28 points in the second half, the Suns ran away with the game.
Defeating the Spurs 109-97, Barkley and the Suns ultimately closed out the series in the next game owing to a game-winner by the 11-time All-Star. Not only that, the 1993 MVP led Phoenix all the way to the NBA finals. But unfortunately, Barkley couldn’t lead Phoenix to a title as they lost out to Michael Jordan and the Bulls.
