Throughout history, many legendary players and teams have failed to win NBA championships. Often their shortcomings are not only limited to the NBA hardwood but also to a lack of decorum in the locker room. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes that plays a factor in a team winning a title.
Advertisement
Hall-of-Fame forward Charles Barkley never won a ring in his career. He only made it to the NBA Finals once with the Phoenix Suns in 1993 but lost to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. The Chuckster recently revealed how the team fell apart after the Finals loss due to a lack of chemistry in their tandem.
Winning a chip requires every single member of the roster to be on the same page about things, which is easier said than done. When Barkley arrived in Phoenix ahead of the 1992-93 season, the team understood their goal. Their motivation was to win a title. As a result, they took the necessary steps to realize their goal. But things were different the following year.
Following the unfortunate outcome, their approach to entering the next season shifted. Barkley took to The Steam Room Podcast to reveal the issues he experienced in navigating the different personalities on the team.
“When I get back the next year, guys start saying, ‘Why is this guy making more money than me? Why is this guy playing more than me?'” Barkley said. “I remember sitting with the owner, I said, ‘I don’t think we’re going to make the Finals again.'”
And that was exactly what happened. The team was never the same again because the players became too concerned with individual interests. Barkley earned $2.42 million for the season, which was the highest in the Suns’ roster. After that came the likes of Tom Chambers at $1.88 million and Kevin Johnson at $1.85 million respectively.
However, Barkley doesn’t believe the team’s lack of unity was the sole reason for their downfall.
Barkley still thinks he failed in the 1993 NBA Finals
No matter how great a player is, it requires a team to win games. But to this day, Barkley flopped in the 1993 NBA Finals, letting his team down badly with his showing, when they needed him the most.
“I think about it a lot,” Barkley said in an interview with ESPN 4 years ago. “I failed in Game 1 to get my team ready for the enormity of the situation. That still bugs me to this day.”
Phoenix lost the series in six games but it was closer than many people remember. Barkley pointed to Game 1 as the missed opportunity to gain an advantage in the series.
The Suns had home court advantage but came out extremely slow and never could recover. Chicago outscored Phoenix 34-20 in the first quarter and held on to the lead for the rest of the game. Barkley and the Suns made a valiant effort in Game 6 but couldn’t force a Game 7, losing 99-98.
