Barkley, Charles (1963-…), became one of the leading scorers and rebounders in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Barkley’s skill and intensity as a player and his outspoken personality have made him one of the best-known figures in American sports. Barkley, a forward, stands about 6 feet 5 inches (196 centimeters) tall. He was voted the Most Valuable Player in the NBA for the 1992-1993 season.
Charles Wade Barkley was born on Feb. 20, 1963, in Leeds, Alabama. He played for Auburn University from 1981 to 1984, when he was a first-round draft choice of the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. He led the NBA in rebounding for the 1986-1987 season and averaged over 20 points a game for most of his years in the league. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns after the 1991-1992 season and to the Houston Rockets after the 1995-1996 season. Barkley played on the United States teams that won the gold medal in men’s basketball at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games. Barkley retired as a player in 2000. He later became a television analyst of NBA games on the talk show “Inside the NBA.”
With Roy S. Johnson, Barkley wrote an autobiography, Outrageous! The Fine Life and Flagrant Good Times of Basketball’s Irresistible Force (1992). He expressed his opinions on a variety of subjects, including basketball, in I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It (2002). Barkley’s interviews with 13 prominent Americans were published as Who’s Afraid of a Large Black Man (2005).
