Athletes

10 Interested Things You Should Know About Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley, the man known for his passion, charisma, and emotions is quite an established personality in the field of sports. He once had a remarkable basketball career, and now he is counted among the most prominent television personalities in Sports. Those who follow him since the beginning of his career, know Charles Barkley was a perennial All-star and was mentioned among the best players in the league. And despite not bringing any title to his trophy cabinet, Charles was honored with the MVP award in 1993 for being an All-star 11 times throughout.

In 1992, playing in Barcelona, Charles Barkley won the Olympic gold medal as a member of the legendary Dream Team. Four years later, he won another Olympic gold medal and also listed himself as one of the top 50 players of all time. Today, we are here to talk about some very interesting facts about the legend, Charles Barkley. So, without waiting any longer, let’s get started!

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Table of Contents

1. Charles Barkley Was Born Underweight

Do you know when Charles Barkley was born, he was underweight? Yes, and he had numerous health issues as well. This is why, at just six weeks old, he had to be given a blood transfusion. But the good thing, with proper medical sports and resources, Charles recovered and grew into a 6 foot, 6 inches tall, and 250-pound power.

2. Charles Barkley Didn’t Graduate Alongside His High School Batch

This may sound a bit shocking, but Charles Barkley did not graduate alongside his batch in high school due to his failure in Spanish. But lucky for him, it didn’t really matter for a professional basketball career. And today, Charles has turned out to be a charming, charismatic, and well-established professional basketball player-turned-broadcaster.

3. Charles Barkley Holds Five NBA Records

When it comes to basketball, Charles Barkley is known to be a legend. In fact, he was such a good player that he holds five NBA records throughout his career. In 1987, during the regular season, while playing against the New York Knicks, he set an amazing record for having the most offensive rebounds, 13 during half of basketball.

During the same game, Charles tied the record held by Golden State Warriors Larry Smith for having the most offensive rebounds in a quarter with 11.

Again in 1993, Charles broke another record for having the most free throws made in half with 19. In 1986, during the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Charles set a record for having the most free throws with 100 in the series of 7 games. During the same series, he set another record for having most turnovers with 37.

4. Charles Barkley Used “Homer Simpson” For Checking Into Hotels

As fun as it sounds, it’s absolutely true. And it’s quite contrary to his dedication and seriousness in court. But in actuality, Charles Barkley is a fun-loving person, who loves doing pranks. Throughout his entire career, whenever he used to check into any hotel, he used the name ‘Homer Simpson.’ This way his identity was also protected and at the same time, he enjoyed the fun of pranking the hotel.

5. Charles Barkley Was Once A Golfer

As with many of his talents, Charles Barkley also played golf. And not just played, he was a passionate and amazing golfer. When he started playing in the NBA, whenever he used to get free time, he got back on the course and was pretty good at golfing, as claimed by many people. Charles even wanted to take it further and looked for advice everywhere. During a sponsored event by Nike, held in San Diego, Charles met a professional golfer from whom he sought advice. He advised Charles to halt a little at the top of his golf swing. And after this, things didn’t quite work out for Charles Barkley in golfing.

6. Charles Barkley Lost Quite A Large Sum In Gambling

Several years ago, during an interview with ESPN, Charles Barkley revealed that he lost around $10 million in gambling. He further admitted to losing nearly $2.5 million in just six hours while playing blackjack. Though he added that gambling isn’t much trouble for him as he can afford it quite well. He likes to play it for excitement, and not money.

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7. Charles Barkley Failed To Make His Varsity Team

During the initial years of his professional career, Charles Barkley was not seen as very promising. When he went to Leeds High School as a junior, he stood 5’10” and weighed 220 pounds. Still, he failed to make the varsity team. But later between his junior year and senior year, with great hard work and dedication, Charles grew to 6’4″ and he got into the starting five.

And when he became a senior, he averaged 19 points and 18 boards per game and made the team.

8. Charles Barkley Jumped A Five-Foot Fence In His Childhood

Charles was always super enthusiastic and energetic, since childhood. So during his childhood, when he didn’t have to go basketball training, he utilized his spare time by jumping back and forth over a five-foot fence to burn off his extra energy and calories.

This helped him improve endurance, and speed, and work on his leg muscles for better fitness.

9. Charles Barkley Made Dream Team Twice

In 1992, Charles Barkley made the dream team of the United States Olympics to compete against players from other countries. His team did so well and did not lose a single game which brought him the gold medal in Olympic Basketball.

In 1996, he made the dream team again and they succeeded quite well by dominating the sports for the second time in the Olympics, which brought him a second gold medal.

10. Charles Barkley Was Considered Only A Rebounder

Charles Barkley was selected by The Philadelphia 76ers into the 1984 NBA draft as their 5th pick. But despite making the team, many experts didn’t see much potential in him. He was given the nickname of “Round Mound of Rebound.” He was considered just an undersized power who can grab a rebound. But the tables turned when Charles Barkley recorded more than 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 4,000 assists, throughout his 16 year NBA career.