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'''Charles Wade Barkley''', born February 20, 1963, is a retired [[National Basketball Association]] forward. During his 16-year career, he played for the [[Philadelphia 76ers]], [[Phoenix Suns]] and [[Houston Rockets]]. During his career, he was known for his great ability to grab rebounds despite his relatively short stature and earning him the nickname "Round Mound of Rebound". He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He is currently known for voicing his sometimes humorous opinion on controversial topics such as [[race]], generally from a [[liberal|left of center]] viewpoint, although he has expressed a few [[conservative|right of center]] opinions as well. Barkley is currently a studio analyst for NBA games on TNT.

'''Charles Wade Barkley''', born February 20, 1963, is a retired [[National Basketball Association]] forward. During his 16-year career, he played for the [[Philadelphia 76ers]], [[Phoenix Suns]] and [[Houston Rockets]]. During his career, he was known for his great ability to grab rebounds despite his relatively short stature, earning him the nickname "Round Mound of Rebound". He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He is currently known for voicing his sometimes humorous opinion on controversial topics such as [[race]], generally from a [[liberal|left of center]] viewpoint, although he has expressed a few [[conservative|right of center]] opinions as well. Barkley is currently a studio analyst for NBA games on TNT.

==College==

==College==

==NBA==

==NBA==

===Philadelphia 76ers (1984-1992)===

===Philadelphia 76ers (1984-1992)===

Barkley was selected with the fifth pick of the 1984 NBA draft by the 76ers. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie team after averaging 14 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in the 84-85 season. In his third year, he became a team leader following the trade of [[Moses Malone|Moses Malone's]] trade to [[Washington Wizards|Washington]]. That year he became the shortest player to win the rebounding title (14.6rpg) and was named to the first of what would be eleven consecutive All-Star teams. In 87-88, Barkley was named a team co-captain and average 28.3 points per game, good enough for fourth in the league. He was named to the All-NBA First team for his efforts. But even with Barkley's strong season, the 76ers would fall short of the playoffs for the first time since he joined the team. He was named MVP of the 90-91 NBA All-Star game after scoring 17 points and picking up 22 rebounds in the East's 116-114 win over the West. In March of 1991, he received notoriety for attempting to spit at a heckler. He missed the heckler and accidently hit a child in the crowd. The NBA suspended Barkley for one game and fined him $10,000. Barkley:  "You do stupid things, and stuff like that happens. I just have to live with a stupid mistake."<ref>"NBA Fines Barkley for Spitting on Fans"; ''Deseret News'', Marcy 29, 1991</ref> Following the 1992 season, Barkley was traded to the Suns in exchange for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry.

Barkley was selected with the fifth pick of the 1984 NBA draft by the 76ers. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie team after averaging 14 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in the 84-85 season. In his third year, he became a team leader following the trade of [[Moses Malone|Moses Malone's]] trade to [[Washington Wizards|Washington]]. That year he became the shortest player to win the rebounding title (14.6rpg) and was named to the first of what would be eleven consecutive All-Star teams. In 87-88, Barkley was named a team co-captain and average 28.3 points per game, good enough for fourth in the league. He was named to the All-NBA First Team for his efforts. But even with Barkley's strong season, the 76ers would fall short of the playoffs for the first time since he joined the team. He was named MVP of the 90-91 NBA All-Star game after scoring 17 points and picking up 22 rebounds in the East's 116-114 win over the West. In March of 1991, he received notoriety for attempting to spit at a heckler. He missed the heckler and accidentally hit a child in the crowd. The NBA suspended Barkley for one game and fined him $10,000. Barkley said of the incident, "You do stupid things, and stuff like that happens. I just have to live with a stupid mistake."<ref>"NBA Fines Barkley for Spitting on Fans"; ''Deseret News'', Marcy 29, 1991</ref> Following the 1992 season, Barkley was traded to the Suns in exchange for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry.

===1992 Olympics===

===1992 Olympics===

Barkley was one of the first ten players chosen to be part of the "Dream Team" at the 1992 Olympic games. Barkley: "It's a great opportunity; it's not often you have a chance to make history. No matter how many Teams go in the future, the first one is special. It will always be the answer to a trivia question." He would get into controversy after being involved in a physical altercation with a player from the Angola team. Barkley: "Somebody hits me, I'm going to hit him back. Even if it does look like he hasn't eaten in a couple weeks"<ref name="quote">http://blacksportsonline.com/index/2008/09/rl50charlesbarkley.html</ref> He would lead the team in scoring at 18 points per game as they would easily take the Gold medal.

Barkley was one of the first ten players chosen to be part of the "Dream Team" at the 1992 Olympic games. Barkley remarked, "It's a great opportunity; it's not often you have a chance to make history. No matter how many Teams go in the future, the first one is special. It will always be the answer to a trivia question." He would get into controversy after being involved in a physical altercation with a player from the Angola team. Barkley said, "Somebody hits me, I'm going to hit him back. Even if it does look like he hasn't eaten in a couple weeks"<ref name="quote">http://blacksportsonline.com/index/2008/09/rl50charlesbarkley.html</ref> He would go on to lead the team in scoring at 18 points per game as they easily won the Gold medal.

===Phoenix Suns (1992-1996)===

===Phoenix Suns (1992-1996)===

===Houston Rockets (1996-2000)===

===Houston Rockets (1996-2000)===

The Rockets acquired Barkley in hopes of winning another championship. They felt putting Barkley alongside [[Clyde Drexler]] and [[Hakeem Olajuwon]] would allow them to beat the un-retired [[Michael Jordan|Michael Jordan's]] Bulls. His first year there was a struggle as he missed 29 games to injury or suspension. The team would manage to make it to the Western Conference finals before losing to the [[Utah Jazz]]. Prior to his second year in Houston, Barkley got into an altercation with a man at a bar. He ended up throwing the man through the bar's front window. Barkley claimed that the man threw a "glass of ice" at him which lead to the fight.<ref name="bar">"Barkley arrested after bar scuffle"; ''Augusta Chronicle'', October 27, 1997</ref> Barkley: "I'm going to defend myself ... at all times. I've made that clear in my years in the NBA. If you bother me, I'm going to whup you."<ref name="bar"/> In 1998 the Rockets acquired [[Scottie Pippen]] from Chicago to replace the retiring Drexler. The team would make the playoffs in the 98-99 lockout shortened season, but lost in the first round to the [[Los Angeles Lakers]]. After the season ended, the Rockets traded Pippen to the [[Portland Trail Blazers]] and Barkley announced that he would retire following the 1999-2000 season. Barkley would play in only 20 games that year due to injuries and the team would go 34-48 to miss the playoffs. Barkley announced his retirement on April 20, 2000.

The Rockets acquired Barkley in hopes of winning another championship. They felt putting Barkley alongside [[Clyde Drexler]] and [[Hakeem Olajuwon]] would allow them to beat the un-retired [[Michael Jordan|Michael Jordan's]] Bulls. His first year there was a struggle as he missed 29 games to injury or suspension. The team would manage to make it to the Western Conference finals before losing to the [[Utah Jazz]]. Prior to his second year in Houston, Barkley got into an altercation with a man at a bar. He ended up throwing the man through the bar's front window. Barkley claimed that the man threw a "glass of ice" at him which lead to the fight.<ref name="bar">"Barkley arrested after bar scuffle"; ''Augusta Chronicle'', October 27, 1997</ref> Barkley said, "I'm going to defend myself ... at all times. I've made that clear in my years in the NBA. If you bother me, I'm going to whup you."<ref name="bar"/> In 1998 the Rockets acquired [[Scottie Pippen]] from Chicago to replace the retiring Drexler. The team would make the playoffs in the 98-99 lockout shortened season, but lost in the first round to the [[Los Angeles Lakers]]. After the season ended, the Rockets traded Pippen to the [[Portland Trail Blazers]] and Barkley announced that he would retire following the 1999-2000 season. Barkley would play in only 20 games that year due to injuries and the team would go 34-48 to miss the playoffs. Barkley announced his retirement on April 20, 2000.

==Off the Court==

==Off the Court==

===Charity===

===Charity===

Barkley has been involved with several charity efforts, including the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the United Service Organization. In 1995, he bought [[Christmas]] gifts for twenty homeless children. Barkley: "My charity work has always been my focus. I think that I have been blessed. I've been sent to help poor people, and I try to do it through my foundation...And what I've been doing for the last few years, I'm giving a million dollars to my high school, a million dollars to my college, a million dollars to another school to help poor people go to college, because without education, you cannot be successful."<ref>http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0212/17/ltm.11.html</ref>

Barkley has been involved with several charity efforts, including the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the United Service Organization. In 1995, he bought [[Christmas]] gifts for twenty homeless children. Barkley said, "My charity work has always been my focus. I think that I have been blessed. I've been sent to help poor people, and I try to do it through my foundation...And what I've been doing for the last few years, I'm giving a million dollars to my high school, a million dollars to my college, a million dollars to another school to help poor people go to college, because without education, you cannot be successful."<ref>http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0212/17/ltm.11.html</ref>

===Quotes===

===Quotes===