This originally appeared in The Sporting News’ Dec. 20, 1999, issue, immediately after Charles Barkley suffered a major knee injury that effectively ended his NBA career.
When people think about Charles Barkley 10 or 15 years down the road, they'll forget about all the negative stuff that surrounded his career off the court and remember him with admiration for the way he played on it.
He was always viewed as the underdog, being so small and playing with such passion and fire. Barkley's heart always was bigger than the rest of his body, and people loved that and will never forget it.
Presumably ending his career without winning an NBA title probably will leave a hole deep inside him because he never experienced the incredible sense of satisfaction and accomplishment of having something (a championship) in a particular year that the rest of the league didn't. But Barkley has given the NBA 16 years of his best and made as much out of his career as anyone could have expected. He has said that he exceeded even his expectations.
MORE: Barkley headlies list of best players to never win an NBA title
Barkley spent a career going into arenas around the league trying to get fans to boo him. He tried to put the focus in hostile arenas squarely on himself to allow his teammates to play without hassle, and he thrived on that. All Barkley wanted to do was win and put on a show. If that took yelling at fans or referees or slamming a ball on the floor, he would do it
I played against Barkley at the very end of my career and it was always tough but fun. At 6-4, Barkley always amazed me with the things he was able to do. He played incredibly hard, and he liked the rough game.
He was a lot like Dave Cowens just plain tough. If you got your licks in first, he never complained. He never said a word other than, “Oh, so that's how we're going to play.” Then he usually ended up putting you on the floor. But he'd always come over to pick you up like he was your best friend. His game was more a reflection of his personality than his personality was a reflection of his game. Part of it was his willingness to seek an edge, to get into the psyche of his opponent.
MORE: Where does Barkley rank among all-time #NBA75?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Julius Erving announced their retirements in advance of their final seasons and reaped the rewards of victory tours around the league. Bill Russell won his 11th NBA championship in the spring of 1969, then announced he was through. Everyone has a different way of saying goodbye But when an injury forces you into not playing out your entire final season, the way it did with Barkley, that's even more painful than the injury itself. I know because it happened to me.
In the course of my 14-year NBA career, I missed a total of eight seasons because of injuries. My last season turned out to be 1987-88 with the Celtics. I spent it by having two ankle surgeries and watching the season from the bench in street clothes. Although I always thought I might play again, it just never happened.
Barkley entered the league when it was getting into player specialties, yet he never conformed. Barkley wasn't a position player. He wasn't a small or power forward. He was neither a point guard nor an off guard. And he certainly wasn't a center. Yet, often in the same game, often on the same play, he was all of the above. He wasn't a player who waited for action to come his way. He always has been the guy who forced the action.