Charles Barkley is a certified truth-teller. He acknowledges that he might not be right all the time; nevertheless, he still calls it as he sees it. About a month ago, when the NBA legend sat down with Shannon Sharpe to discuss sports, culture, and the path to greatness, his honesty was evident once again.
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Sharpe initially asked the ‘Inside the NBA’ panelist about the greatest draft in NBA history. As the round mound of rebound himself is from a legendary draft class, including Michael Jordan and John Stockton, he was more than validated to give his opinion on this subject.
The NBA Hall of Famer, however, refused to give a clear-cut answer, as he believes that the game has changed. The rules are different, and the manner of playing the game itself is no longer the same. So does that mean that when ascertaining “greatness,” those things should be considered? According to the Alabama alum, yes. And in his view, the same applies to the NFL.
“Think about this: There’s probably gonna be 10 quarterbacks in the next 5 years who’re gonna shatter all the records,” Barkley predicted. “And they’re not gonna one-third the player Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning (were).”
Just to put some context, Tom Brady holds 17 major NFL records, while Drew Brees holds 4 and Peyton Manning has 5. However, where the NBA legend is coming from cannot be ignored.
Chuck has been on record multiple times, calling football the toughest game. He’s been watching and betting on the sport for years, and having been a legendary on-and-off-the-field legend in another athletic endeavor, his analysis hits home with a lot of what football pundits say.
He went on to argue that within the next 10-15 years, or maybe even sooner, the top QBs of today will take over the top-10 yardage charts — just because the game has changed so drastically from a run-first mentality to a pass-first mentality.
So the comparisons we draw between great players from back then and great players from now should come with a caveat. And even though Barkley is predicting Brady’s name will vanish from record books, he still admires the legendary QB and what he has done for the sport. Sometimes, even what he has done for Barkley.
Charles Barkley Remembers a Pricey Gift From Tom Brady
Recently, in conversation with Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina, Barkley shared an intriguing anecdote about Tom Brady. The former NBA legend revealed that around 4-5 years ago, he complimented Brady while he was broadcasting their charity golf tournament. However, what he thought was a benign compliment turned into a sweet moment.
“One of Tom’s boys comes up to me and he says, ‘Hey Tom is looking for you.’ …I go up [to the clubhouse] and I say, ‘Tom, what’s up?’ And he says, ‘Chuck, take my watch.’ I go, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Tom, I’m just saying you have a nice watch.’ [He says], ‘I appreciate the compliment,’ and he just gives me this watch,” The Hall of Famer recounted.
“A couple of collectors have offered me $250,000 for it,” Barkley further added. “I wouldn’t sell it for any amount. That’s what a guy Tom is. Him and Wayne Gretzky, for being the GOATs of their sports, are two of the nicest, most humble guys I ever met.”
That’s the kind of gesture that makes Tom Brady one of the greatest to do it, on and off the field. Undoubtedly, in the future, we can expect Sir Charles to share more intriguing stories like this one.
