Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 1: Charles Barkley’s Munchies

The Suns may have the greatest playoff history for any team without an NBA championship. Obviously we have their most recent Finals run in 2021 where Chris Paul had the best performance of his career. There’s also the 7 seconds or less teams and the crazy run in 1976. Instead, I want to pay respect to an overlooked legend of the game. It’s easy to forget when you see him on TV, but Charles Barkley was a GREAT NBA player. One of the 50 best players ever. When he was drafted by the 76ers in 1984, he was joining one of the best teams in the NBA. Dr. J, Moses Malone and more made Philly the 2nd best team in the East. 6 years later, every player on those great 76ers teams was gone and Barkley was arguably the best basketball player on the planet. After his rookie season, Barkley finished top 6 in MVP voting every year, including a 2nd place finish in 1990 where he actually received the most 1st place votes. Unfortunately, his incredible play was often overshadowed by his off-court actions. I use that phrase in a positive and negative way. The personality that has made Barkley a beloved TV mainstay was there during his playing career. It was often very funny. Sometimes it was bad, like when he spit on a fan. It became mostly bad in 1991-92 when Barkley realized he wasn’t winning a championship in Philadelphia. The 76ers only won 2 playoff series and won a combined 2 games in 2nd round series during his tenure. The best teammate Philly acquired during his time there was Hersey Hawkins. Good player, not good enough to be the 2nd option on a championship team. So Barkley requested a trade in a very public spat. Eventually, Barkley got his wish and was sent to the Phoenix Suns for Jeff Hornacek and a couple nobodies. Barkley arrived to Phoenix with something to prove and he proceeded to win MVP. But the basketball world already knew Barkley was an MVP-level talent. He needed to prove himself in the playoffs. In round 1 against the Lakers, Barkley’s Suns got a big scare when the Lakers went up 2-0 on the Suns in the 5-game first round series. Luckily, Barkley can pull out 29 and 12 like it’s nothing and save Phoenix from a nightmare. In round 2, Phoenix faced David Robinson and the San Antonio Spurs. The Suns started off much stronger and Barkley was rolling through as this series reached game 6 with Phoenix up 3-2. With the score tied 100-100, Barkley got the ball with Robinson guarding him and hit the game winner over him to seal the series. It was the final game played in San Antonio’s HemisFair Arena. Barkley’s first time in round 3 was probably his weakest series of this run, but it contained what Sir Charles considers the best game of his career. After a hard fought series, it all came down to game 7. According to Charles, he was very anxious about it because he had played poorly in game 6, causing them to lose. On the flight back to Phoenix, Barkley called over teammate Frank Johnson and explained his concerns to him. Frank told him “You just got to play the best basketball game you’ve ever played in your life”. Barkley went out in game 7 and put up 44 points and 24 rebounds, 10 of them being offensive rebounds. Safe to say he followed through. He put up just the 27th 40-20 game in NBA history and just the 4th in the 3-point era. Only 4 other players have done it since. With that iconic performance, Barkley had done it, he had proven his doubters wrong and gotten Phoenix to the finals. Unfortunately, waiting for him was Michael Jordan and the Bulls looking for a 3-peat. The Bulls proved their might, taking a 3-1 series lead despite Charles averaging 30 and 14 in the first 4 games. MJ averaged a casual 43 points, so no shame. The Suns did manage to win game 5, but lost game 6 due to John Paxson’s famous shot. The Barkley Suns never got closer as fellow draft class mate Hakeem found an extra gear and ruled the non-MJ NBA with a kind hand and vindictive play. At the time, Barkley’s 93 playoff run had the most rebounds of anyone since the NBA-ABA merger. It is 5th all-time today. Keep in mind, Barkley is about the height of Michael Jordan, who is 6’6”. Each guy ahead of him is at least 3 inches taller. He is 1 of just 2 players EVER to put up 600 points and grab 300 rebounds in a single playoff run. The other is 2000 Shaq. Bill and Wilt don’t have that on their lengthy resumes. Sir Charles never won a championship, Shaq likes to remind him of that fact often. But don’t let hardcore ring culture fool you into thinking Barkley wasn’t good enough to win a ring. Barkley was one of the greatest players ever and his 1993 run was the main course of the delicious meal that was his career.