Charles Barkley is a former NBA Basketball player and a popular American media personality.
Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "The Bread Truck", and "The Round Mound of Rebound", the Hall of Fame power forward was notable during his playing career for being noticeably shorter and chubbier than most basketball players, but his strength and aggressiveness made him one of the NBA's most dominant rebounders (hence the nickname), leading the league in that category in 1988. Also a prolific scorer, Barkley had the ability to score from the perimeter and the post, using an array of spin moves and fadeaways or finishing a fast break with a powerful dunk, with the tradeoff of being one of the worst three-point shooters ever.note One of his Signature Moves was to grab a defensive rebound, dribble the length of the court, and finish at the rim with a powerful dunk. His aggressive, fast-break defensive prowess led to Barkley finishing his career as one of the NBA's all-time leaders in blocks and steals, and his impressive court vision made him a playmaker who could rack up several assists per night.
An eleven-time All-Star, Barkley started off his pro career with the Philadelphia 76ers, who drafted him #5 overall in 1984 out of Auburn. He went to the Phoenix Suns in 1992, where he became the league's MVP in the same year that he faced Michael Jordan in the 1993 NBA Finals. Though he never won a ring in the NBA, Barkley was also part of the Dream Team, winning Olympic gold in 1992 and 1996 (which helped earn him a cameo role in Space Jam). "Chuck" retired in 2000 after a few years with the Rockets; the Sixers and Suns both retired his #34
During his playing career, Barkley was often a beacon of controversy, from fights on/off the court to various statements and unintentionally abrasive behavior towards fans (e.g. spat on a young girl by mistake while aiming for a heckler); notably, this led to him making a Nike commercial in which he claimed he was not a role model, which was considered a pretty big deal at the time and significantly contributed to how athletes were depicted in popular media. This coverage further helped Barkley to launch his own personal brand after his time on the court ended. Barkley has remained very much in the spotlight as a broadcaster and entertainer known for emphasizing humor and relatability over analysis; the combination of his physical presence, Brutal Honesty, and sense of humor made him a widely known celebrity spokesman and even landed him multiple hosting gigs on Saturday Night Live. Barkley is best known today for his basketball commentary on NBA on TNT, where he has served as a main host on the acclaimed Inside the NBA program since 2000 and has something of a Sitcom Arch-Nemesis relationship with another former Suns player, Shaquille O'Neal. He also has interests outside of basketball, hosting the King Charles opinion program on CNN.
Barkley is also the star of three video games in the ''Barkley Shut Up and Jam!" series, one of which is unofficial and really weird.
