ATS REPLAY: Charles Barkley | ALL THE SMOKE

in a lifetime money can't buy experience. NBA Top Shot users have already attended private events with superstars like Klay Thompson, rising stars like Kad Cunningham, and even all time greats like Magic Johnson. Your entire collection of NBA Top Shot moment never loses quality and are accessible by any device, so they're always at your fingertips. Rep your team, Flex your fandom and own the greatest moments from the NBA

exclusively from NBA top Shot. Sign up today at nbatopshot dot com and kickstart your collection with your first pack.

do something that's a blessing. So but my doctor told me, man, especially you know, being Black, we don't take good care of ourselves when it you know, want of obesity and diabetes and things like that. It's rampant in our communities. And I had gotten really fat, to be honest with you, I'd gained. I'd just gotten out of shape just for being lazy, first and foremost, because I was in pain all the time. I'm like, I'm tired of working out. So I worked out my whole life and I just

got tired. Then my hips got bad, and my doctor he said, I'm gonna give you new hips. He said, but you gotta lose weight. Man, he said, I see a lot of fat young people. I don't see no fat old people. He told me to get my ass in shape. So in the last few months, I'm down about right at fifty, but I got I gained like ninety two. You know, you can't do anything when you get those hips. So my goal in the next year. So realistically, I played it two fifty. I can't get there.

So I was up three fifty. So my goal is to get to to seventy and two seventy. You don't drop dead, hopefully being twenty pounds overweight, but I don't. You can drop dead and get diabetes and high if you're like sixty seventy eighty pounds overweight. So right now I feel great. I'm down fifty. My goal is to get to about two seventy.

that shit avocado, but things like that. So, but like I said, you got to eat because you can't at our age. You guys a lot younger than me. I can't work out enough to eat bad. I mean like when I was in my prime, I told people my pregame meal. I got two fish fil as, a large fry and a die Coke. That was my pregame.

take care of your family. I ain't gonna say, hey, don't take money from here here, I said, because the people actually knew where all their money came from, nobody would be working. Thanks. Yeah, fact, that's facts. And I said, so TNT called me in because my magic number was sixty right around there, you know, I've been so lucky and blessed. I played in the NBA for sixteen years,

been on television for twenty two going on twenty three. Paid. Yeah, but I'm saying, if I don't have enough money by now, I'm the biggest fucking I'm the biggest eating in the world. If I ain't got enough cash by now, I said, guys, I'm winding down because one thing I'm very realistic about. When I'm around old NBA players, I know my shit ain't gonna be working later, but I don't care. I've I got the privilege to be Charles Barkley and the

greatest life ever. But whatever happens down the line, because for my body being worn down, beat up, it's all good. I got to be at my mama house, my grandmother house. I got to send my nieces to college. I've lived a great life and I know my body. Whatever happened down the line happens. It is so I want to be able to travel the world enjoy life for the next few years before it all kicks in. Oh shit, I could drop dead next week. It is what it is. I ain't upset about that I've lived sixty years a

great life. So I say, hey, I want to wind down, and they said to me, listen, this is the deal. We need you. And I love T and T. They've been great to me. They says, we're gonna have to bid on the NBA again. You know, we're paying like two point five billion a year. That number is gonna be close to probably four billion in a couple of years. And they said, we need you to stay on if we're gonna bid that type of money. And I said, well,

I really want to wind down. They're like, well, we need you to stay at least X amount of years, three or four or five somewhere in there. But we just want to make sure if you still want to keep working, we want to sign for ten years. I said, there's no chance I'm gonna fucking be here in ten years. I'm fucking seventy years old. And I said, I will stay through the transition if y'all bid on the NBA. And I said, cause you guys have been great to me,

So I signed for ten years. I don't think it's zero chance I'm gonna make it for ten years, but those negotiations are going to start in the next year. And like I said, it's probably gonna be the thing that scares them and they're worried about You know, you saw what the NFL. Amazon came in, Yeah, and bought the NFL. I think the NBA is gonna listen to Apple. It's gonna want sports now apparently and Amazon. So that number could be way more than three or four billion

dollars because Apple and Amazon got all that cash. So the next three years are going to be very interested in the sports world. But I told them, hey, you guys been great to me. I don't want to hang you out to drive. If y'all gonna bid on the NBA, I'll stay through the transition. I was happy to sign a deal because they were great. But man, you know,

I've been so lucky. I want to thank Dick ever saw my mentor who mentioned television to me, because you guys in the same boat as me, and man, when this shit over, you're like, I ain't got no job. What I'm gonna do, what I'm gonna do. And I tell brothers this, especially brothers. Yo, Man, you gotta find something to do because you're still young. You ain't gonna have no income coming in, and you got to find a way to keep making money. That's why I told

you the beginning. I'm proud of y'all for doing y'all thing, because man, I call it an owl, the our syndrome, because I get guys who call me They're like, yo, man, I need some shoes. I'm like, dude, you blah blah, get some shoes. You're like, yeo, man, I'm an hour now. You know. You know, people are like Stephen Hoo's like, when you call it, try to get tickets and shoes and things like, you can come an hour. I call it and I said, oh, you're out now. I said, yep,

I don't get no free stuff anymore. But so you got to find a way to stay in the game. And I was so lucky because of Dick Episol to go right into television. But man, you got that's why you got to start. Number one. You got to save your money. You got to plan for the future, and you got to figure out what you want to do because you got to find something to do because twenty four to seven but nothing to do is dangerous. How long you been at tennant twenty two, I'm going on

twenty three now, so them ten years gonna fly. By them twenty two years, flu by it them ten years, gonna fly, They're gonna fly Bay, you know. But jact, my thing is, man, I want to travel the world and enjoy my life before I you know. So now, the stuff that we do to our bodies ain't normal.

And I don't call names. But when I go see some of the old all time grades and see the shape they're in, Like playing sports, it ain't it's the greatest job in the world, but it staying for your body, it gets your ass, It gets you.

four years in the NBA, we flew commercial. Wow. I mean, that's how crazy, that's how that's how long ago it was. And Dick Ebersol said to me, what do you think about going on television? I says, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I said, obviously I got to play a couple more years, but I don't know. But he says, I think you'll be good on TV. He said, I think I think you'll be great on TV. He said, you're always gonna be in trouble, Like, what does that mean?

He says, clearly, somewhere along the way you made up your mind you're always just gonna be honest and deal with the ramifications. I said, well, that was actually interesting because when I first started becoming a star, I think I was my third at the end of my second year, of my third year in the NBA. Because my first few years in the NBA, nobody talked to me. It was Doc Moses, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Tony, Bobby Jones. I was the rookie. Monthy didn't even mention me, didn't come

to me. So when those guys started getting older, and then at the end of my second year, I started having success. My third year, I think I made the All Star team and it was a so they started coming to me, and I really wanted everybody to like me. And then I was like, you know, I was trying to answer every question politically correct and blah blah blah. And I pulled Doctor jlside one day. I said, Doc,

I'm having a hard time. He says, yeah, it's a very Him and Moses probably were the two great influences for me, talking about like Moses got me in shape. But Doc Ta says, now this is a very slippery slope trying to answer every question and not make him or him or her make it, not making them mad, and he says it's impossible to do that. He says, so you're gonna have to figure out how you want to handle this. He said, you can try to make everybody happy, or you can be honest, but would honesty

come and repercussions? And I tried to do it the politically rate in the beginning, and I'm like, I'm still getting shipped from other people, and I'm like, I'm going to be honest. He says, now they're gonna be coming for you. You better be great. At basketball. But you can get away with saying what you want to if you're greate a basketball. If you suck at basketball and you honest, they're gonna come get your ass. And I'm like, okay,

I better be great a basketball. So when I was sitting with mister Eversall at that meeting, he says, you what happened to make you be honest? He said, I tried pleasing everybody, and I realized I couldn't. You guys know it's impossible mad about something. Yeah, So I said, I'm just gonna be honest and straightforward. And people get mad. Fuck them, they get mad. And I made that decision to just be a straight shooter. And he says, you're gonna be great, but you're always gonna be in trouble

because people gonna get mad at what you say. And that was kind of the turning point in this whole thing. And like I say, people get mad, and I've lost friends and you know, people get mad. But I can say this, I've never said anything on television personally about a person. I look at the situation. I try to be honest, I try to be fair. I've criticized the

good ones. I've criticized the great ones, I criticized the bad one, but I actually feel say I can also say I think I've been very fair, especially as a player. Even when I have to criticize the player, I try to be fair about him.

want to hear it yeah, he said. Yeah, he says, don't get mad every time somebody says something like First of all, they're doing their job. That's the media's job. There's some guys I hate number one who everybody know. I hate Skip Basis because I think he deliberately When you're on television, it's a very powerful thing. People in Idaho, Nebraska, South Dakota, Maine, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, they're like, well, this guy said it on television. I believe it. It must

be true. So I'm very careful. I never talk about people's personal life, you know. And we've had some conversations about people's sexuality. I said, I don't come in on people's sexuality. I got plenty of gay friends, I got plenty of transgender friends. That's off limits. And I'm never going to answer no questions like that. But I said, I'm never gonna get in their personal business. That's not

our business. But I'm my criticism or if I said some positives, is gonna be one h percent on basketball. But there's guys I watch on television. I said, oh, he don't like that guy. You could tell that. Yes, I said, that ain't right. Your personal opinion should never matter, should never matter. And he said to me, when somebody said something about you as a player, the first question is is it true. And these guys today, if they hear something negative about them, they just gonna react. And

I don't get mad. But I never go back into him either, because the way these lightweight media people like, they love when y'all go back to you see what Charles said about this guy. You see what he said. Back to Charles. You see what Charles said there. I said, oh, man, don't get those lightweights no ammunition. That's the only talent they have. That's the only talent they have. And then

and Jack, you know what's fun about it. They ain't never touched the ball in it, never touched the ball of their life.

Warriors to get the Old Heads respect. And I said, and I used the analogy. I said, Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest ever, said I had to win a championship without that. Lebron says, I had to win a championship without Dwayne and Chris. The rules are already there. Just because you don't want to follow the rules, you

can get mad and call me names. I'm just gonna tell you the way, me and the Old Heads and we talked about it, was like, hey, KT's a great he's an really great player, but he gonna have to win a championship before we put him up here with these guys. And I said, I said, Kobe Bryant has said that. He said, hey, I had to win a championship without Shock.

different wing than the guys who won the championship. I mean fame. I no idea, but I'm saying, though, Jack, hey, I understand. I understand the rules, Like Charles are great, call Malong's great, practice UN's great. They're not at the table with Magic Bird, Lebron Kobe. It's levels to this shit. And I ain't mad at that. I understand that. Now if I could have won a championship, I can go over across the room. But the rules are the rules. We don't we we have to play by the rules.

And this ain't gotten nohe with motherfucker's on TV who get paid to talk shit. We talked about players. We're talking about players. We understand, like, yeah, hey, I'm not at the table with Bird. Imagine those guys. Hey, yeah, am I a great player? Yes I am. I understand that, But there are levels and there's tables to this thing. Steph went up last year, yep, like he was already in the room. He got to come over like Isaiah Thomas. He like, yeah, okay, Steph, come on over now. Yeah,

come on over now. I said, like, okay, because Ai, Isaiah John Stock and those are probably three best little guys ever to play the game. And Steph was an all time guy. But now he gets to move over like in the Isaiah category. Yes, yes, yeah, so man. But and I tell him, I said, but I don't mind these guys like I. But is he the only thing I hate about? To be honest with you, the motherfuckers special KD Kobe guys like that. I did all

time great. But the only time I've ever gotten mad at those two guys because me and Kobe had to stay one night. Remember that game where he wouldn't shoot. We had that game that night. I remember seeing that and Kobe starts texting me calling me motherfucker, asshole, a bit jack. It was one of the funniest things ever. So we got that game, and I see, yo, man, as much as I love Kobe Brown, when he did

tonight was total bs. He wouldn't shoot each other. I think he took one shot in the second half and I was like, I didn't like that. Ernest said, what do you mean? He was trying to prove a point. They were getting their ass kicked. He don't have a lot of help, I said, but that's what separates him from Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan were like when he played against her, help He's like, now I'm gonna get sixty. Kobe was trying to prove a point. I didn't have

no help. So he starts texting me after the game. So you know, we get off around one to two in the morning. He texted me like twenty five times, called me every name in the book, and I'm texting it back. Yo man, pick up the phone and call me. No fuck you, fuck you, motherfucker. Fuck you, but just bullshit what you said? We go ba. I mean. He called me like and this goes on for like two three hours, and I said, Yo man, I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Fuck you motherfucker. Go to bed, and

it ss. He texted me probably twenty times, and it was just motherfucker, motherfucker, motherfucker. And he said, we see each other like months, ladies. Man, I'm sorry, I said, man, you know what, it's all good. You allowed to vent. We hug each other. That's basically what he was doing. Yeah, and then we hugged each other and we were always cool. But it's never personal. I just didn't like what he

did that night. But the point I was going to make is these guys, like when I said I had been saying for three years that dude is the best basketball player in the world. He never called me and said thank you. These guys, I said nine great things about the one, not one like Charles, thank you for the kind words. Hey, I never get that text. You know, KT played like ship tonight, Hey fuck you Charles Barkley. I'm getting that on Twitter and things like that. So

that's the only time I get mad. I get mad. Then I laughed. They never called me and said, hey man, thank you kind word. But if I say one bad day, I said nine great things one they go and that's yeah, that's the time. That's the only time I get mad. Why don't you have a text me saying great. What I'm saying, how great you are? Right? Thank you?

a while. What is just your take on what he is doing and just how disrespectful I feel like he is to players, And now his co host is.

Nobody in the world knew who I was. I go on TV for a year. I can't go nowhere without people running up on me. And I said, man, TV is amazing, Like it's such like everybody know who's on television, especially if you're successful, you're on television a lot. It is really a big like everybody watched television and skip to me when these guys are real people. And I don't mind you criticizing guys. It can never be personal, right, And one thing I hate about the media. You can

tell guys they like and dislike. You can't talk about people on television like that. He had to be fair and honest with people, and I think he is. You can tell who he likes, you can tell who he dislikes because he makes it personal. Like you can't say bad stuff about Lebron James.

But in this generation with social media, he's never gotten in trouble. He's lived up to all the hype, brought his boys along. Yes, I think it's probably the greatest story in sports history. Agree, Like, I'm like to beat the number one, be as good from eighteen and never really get in trouble in this society where people are out to get you phones everywhere everywhere. I think it's

probably the greatest sports story of all time. I mean, it's just amazing what he's accomplished, what he's did and never gotten in trouble. But to skips disrespect toward him, I do not like it the way he's treating Shannon. Clearly, Hey, Tom Brady is to go, we get that, get it. You don't have to like your manah right, like that But first of all, this dude in the Hall of Fame, he won three Super Bowls night chop Liver. He ain't chop Liver, but he is. He's been rewarded so much

for doing that. Yeah, the way he has made his money and made his living, I have a problem with it, because, man, if you make it to the pros, you a hell of a player. Period. I tell people, hey, is everybody Lebron or kd No, But that number twelve guy on the NBA team, his journey is amazing. If you get to be one of the best four hundred basketball players in the world.

to travel the country. I tell these guys, man, we're the luckiest dudes in the world far. Whenever I get ready to kill over, I just want to be able to say thank you, big fella. I can't believe this. I like, man, because of that little stupid ass ball, I don't seen the world. I remember one time I was sitting at the White House with President Obama because I'm my hometown only got a couple thousand people. I'm

from Leeds, Alabama. Shout out to Leeds a couple thousand people, and growing up in the projects, I'm thinking, like, I ain't even thinking about sports. I only started playing basketball because I want to go to college for free. Never thought I was gonna make it to the NBA. And I was like sometimes when I go home and visit, I was like, man, I grew up in that project right over there, and I'm like, because of that little

stupid ass ball, I'm like, I can't believe. Sixty years later and I was just sitting there looking at him, I'm like, Wow, this is crazy. A little kid from Leed's, Alabama's in the White House and I got one of my most prized possessions. I was laughing. He said, Chuck, you've been in the Oval Office. I said, oh yeah, we go there all the time. I said, mister President, hell no, I ain't never been to the office. And there's a picture. He says, let me show you the

Oval office. And you know, he always with a photographer. And I didn't even notice the photographer. To be honest with you. A month later, it's a picture got on my wall. Cherish it. It's me and him standing in the Oval Office. And I can say I didn't even notice that the photographer. He ain't up his ass. He's

like standing back taking pictures with the president. And President Obama sent me this picture of me and him stad and I remember getting to text from all my friends telling me like, yo, man, we're so proud of you. I'm like, what the hell are you talking about. They're like, you know, man, there's a picture on the internet that you and President Obama in the over Office. I said, I haven't seen it. And it came like a month or two later, and when I got the picture, I'm like, damn, man,

this is so crazy and awesome. My little hometown seeing me in the over Office with the President of the United States, a black president of the United States, with all the recial bullshit that went on in Alabama. They're like, a black president you in the Oval office from a town a couple thousand people. It was amazing. It's amazing. Since you're speaking on Leeds.

and the ship is crazy. You're like, I guess they didn't want no drama. They didn't want no drama, you think. I mean, like I said, I don't. I can't prove it, but they're like, no, We're gonna have a black and a white homecoming queen. What's crazy? Like, dude, we're taping this here in Atlanta. It was a controversy, like in

the last couple of years. Well, the kids wanted to uh have a one prom and some of the parents like, hell no, I mean so so racism exists, always has, always will and you just have to deal with the BS as I call it. But like these kids like, yeah, we don't want this shit anymore. We're gonna have one problem, And some of the parents are like, no, we're not. And it was right here in Georgia. Stuck. They stuck in their ways. But so but I a couple of

things about Leeds. It was a great place to grow up, even though all hell was breaking loose in Birmingham. We're about twenty to thirty minutes from Birmingham. You know, we had the church bombing in Birmingham. Sell Us right up the street, Montgomery's right up a couple hours away. My grandmother told me about it later, but we didn't know, I mean because we got the rabbit as on the TV. So you're not really getting world view right. But my grandmother,

the greatest person ever in my life. She made me learn who Nelson Mandela was. She made me learn who doctor King was. She made me learn, make me learn who Mecca Evers is. She was such a great woman. But the one thing she always talked to me about was race. She says, Now, listen, judge people, she said, cause there are a lot of great white people out here. She says, you don't grow up believing it's us against them. She says, these white people who in my life, they're amazing.

And that was really important, Like, because there are a lot of black people who are full of shit, who like they're not They're like they're black, but they're not helping our race, and there are a lot of white people out there who are helping our race. I actually learned what was really cool for me. There's a great civil rights hero named ct Vivian who passed away in the last couple of years. When I was doing my documentary on race Dead a few years ago, he says, now, y'ass,

I want you to remember something. I know you're trying to bring the races together. I want you to know there's always been a lot of race people being racial together. I said, what do you mean, mister Bibby, And he says, you know, when we talk about civil rights, we talk about most majority of other black people, you know, doctor

King and those guys like that. He said, I want you to let you know that there was a lot of great white people marching with us got killed and thinks, I said, mister Bibby, and I promise you, I'll make sure people know that. And that was really cool because our and our you know, you know, Jack, we get and I'm part of the business too. We're in the media business. Man, we get beat over the head so much on negativity because it's really crazy. The negativity sells thanks,

you know. I was, me and Ernie were talking about me and Ernie have a podcast, and I was we were talking about Demor Hamlin and I said, man, I was so touched by I think they've up to about seven eight million dollars ten million. It's ten close to ten, I says, man, there's so many great people out here, But in our business, we don't talk about the great people. We tell like, hey, hey, get on TV and talk bad about your coach and other players. We'll put you

on TV. But that's and unfortunately that's the world we live in in the media. Like Prince Harry, I don't know this dude, Like, yeah, trash, your brother trash, the King, prash trash everybody like, yeah, we're gonna put you on every TV show. And I don't know if he's telling

the truth or not. I don't judge that that's his truth, but I'm like, yeah, if you're gonna talk bad about the future King of England, talk bad about your dad who's the king of England, talk bad about your stepmother, Like, we're gonna put you, We're gonna put you on TV, on every network. You can write a book. That's the

world we live in now. Like I say, I don't know this dude, but we don't talk enough about positive and we just I'm like, yo, man, white people, black people, all types of people gave this dude close to ten million dollars that you say, and they don't know him, but that touched everybody, and I wish that we would. I wish positively sell more than negativity. I say this all the time, like two things.

He says, yeah, Chuck, Chuck just gave another couple of million dollars to Jackson State. Jackson State and Bethune Cookman ready to shout out to Reggie theisters, the head coach there. And Kenny says, can you repeat that again? Ernie says, yeah, Chuck just gave his eight million dollars to HBCU. He says, Chuck, why don't you tell people? I says, I want to do it because it's I want to give back, he says. He said, and that's the problem. Chuck does all this.

He don't tell anybody. I said, yeah, if I tell everybody, gonna be like Chuck always braging about how much money to get a charity. So I don't tell anybody. Yeah, He's like, he don't do shit for the blackmmunity said. I said, Yo, man, I'm not. As I tell my daughter, I said, let me tell you something. Don't you ever get these idiots power over you. If somebody said, like, I'm going back way back when she's a young kid, shout out to my little grandson. Just became a grandpa.

You know. Ernie and Clark Kellogg, two of the greatest people I've ever known, said, man, being a grandpa gonna be the greatest thing ever happened to you. I'm like, yeah, okay, yeah, okay, And I'm like it's gonna be good. I know. I called both of those guys. I said, all right, man, this is the greatest thing you ever have to be in my entire life. Shout out to little Henry. It's the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me. And I'm wanted to see my daughter as a grown person.

But the point I was making was I told her, if somebody criticizes you, says bad thanks to you, you just keep walking, keep doing great in school, you'd be a great person. You already broke my heart and we didn't play basketball. I was like, to dude, it was so crazy, Jack. My daughter went to Villanova and Columbia. She's a great person. She's a really nice person and a great person. She's gonna be it. She's a great wife and a great mom. Really proud of her. But

I got to tell you something, man. So my daughter, she was like two years old. She was like six feet tall, and I'm like, I'm gonna have the best female basketball player in the world. I can't wait to teach her shit, I says, I'm gonna send her to the best camps. I'm gonna work with her during the summer. I'm all pumped. Six feet tall, full five six seven eight nine ten. I'm like, come on, girl, be a teenager so i can teach you all my shit. How she become a teenager, I say, hey, you're gonna are

you ready? We started playing. I don't think she liked basketball, said Christiana. When those girls get close to you pop them, Dad, I might hurt them. Say yeah, that's the objective. I'm bigger than they are. I'm like, yeah, that's an advantage.

don't like sports. And I said, but you know what, she's a great person. She's a straight a student and proud of the woman she is. But man, I was like, I spent my you know, I'm writing down notes teaching her to jump, hook up and under I'm gonna work with her on her footwork. She's like, oh damn, I don't like sports. It was brutal. I got five girls, and so I know the feeling.

then it's too late to get recruited. So then only Alabama already UAB is recruiting me because everybody's already signed. So I'm leaning toward you because I'm really close to my mother and grandmother. Rest in peace, ladies, Thank y'all, love y'all, misch y'all. So only three schools, big schools are recruiting me, So uabas in Birmingham, so it's right there. But they make it to the sweet sixteen and they

got everybody coming back. Then Tuscaloosa is close. They actually make it to the sweet sixteen and got everybody coming back, and they signed the best big man in the country who's from Alabama, a guy named Bobbi Lee Hurt. And it's wildly who was the best point guard in the country. So then I go down to Auburn. Auburn's lost like twelve games in a row, and I'm looking and I said, these motherfuckers are awful. So me and the coach are sitting there and I said, coach, you got a pin

on you. You know, people bugging me saying hello, signed a couple of autographs, blah blah blah. I said, coach, you got a pin on you. He says, oh, you big time. You're gonna start signing autographs and shit, I said, no, I'm signing up here. He said what he says, I'm watching our team play. These motherfuckers ain't no good. I can play here. And it turned into the best decision ever going to Auburn. But Jack, I tell these dudes,

you know, I talk to players all the time. I said, listen, don't talk to me about the education part, because if you want a education, you're gonna get it. I said, your number one criteria is when you're decide where you're going to go to college, is playing time. I said, because if you go, especially if you go way so where away, if you don't get to play, there's gonna be a miserable experience. Experience. Yeah, it's gonna be awful. Your school word's gonna suck, but you're gonna be homesick.

Because what people don't understand is, man, everybody can play in college. Everybody can play in college because when you're in high school and you're a great player or a really good player, you're only gonna play against five to ten players who are on your level. But when you go to college, everybody's on your level. Everybody's on your level. When you go play Vanderbilt, like, damn, they got good players.

You go Mississippi State, I go Jeff Malone, kil Patrick Wells, Dominique had Georgia, James Banks, Burn Fleming, Terry Fair, and those guys Alabama had Bobbly Hurt, Eddie Phillips. So the number one criteria like, yo, man, you need to get to play. So Auburn gave me a great opportunity to play, and I got to play right away as a freshman and it was three great years and I loved it. Any good stories from both with Bo Jackson well, so we had a great high school football team. You know,

we all you know, all the jocks hang out. So we played bowl's high school and Bows one of the few athletes who the same size in high schools. He was in Yeah, he was a monster in high school. Yes, like everybody else get bigger when they go to college, he was there already. Bowl We go play Bowls high school and it was one of the most amazing things.

Like every time he touched the ball that he's just scored or a broke, like a fifteen twenty yard run, and it's like he's already bigger and faster than everybody else, Like he's bigger than our defensive lineman. I mean, but it was so beautiful to watch. And then he comes to auburnd the next year, and I tell people, one of the coolest things for me was get an opportunity to watch that dude play football every Saturday in person. And we're great friends to this day. But I just

liked being with that dude. But man, it was such a it was a pleasure and an honor to watch that dude play football every Saturday. That talented man. That's unbelievable.

average salary was two hundred thousand dollars. Magic and Bird, those guys changed the entire trajectory of the NBA and made it what it is today because Magic and I told him the story, I says, and I'm playing with doctor J. Moses. I remember the first time Magic when he made a million dollars, we were going around high five of each other. We couldn't believe an NBA player made a million dollars. That was Magic. He's the first

player to make a million dollars. But year was that it was eighty five, eighty six somewhere in there.

the whole dynamic of the league. So every time I see those guys, they I want them to know, Man, thank you. It took a kid from Leeds to Alabama to like I said, I was able to build my mother and grandmother house. I was able to send all my nieces nieces to college, my daughter to the best colleges. Because one of the greatest travesers of this country, the greatest country in the world, is what we charge these

kids to go to school. Ridiculous. It's ridiculous and a joke because what we do is we eliminate probably seventy eighty percent of kids who are probably smart enough yeah, don't have the opportunity. They think they can't borrow that much money for it. I mean, you know, my daughter loved going to Villanova, loved it, she loved going to

Columbia grad school. There are a lot of kids who probably just as smart as my daughter who got no chance of going to Villanova or Colombia, but because of economics, they can't go to those schools. So man, I wish we could find a way to do something about that, really help.

after your junior year in my day. So I think to this day, I'm still the only person to lead to SEC and rebound in three straight years. So I don't think anything wrong. Yeah damn, oh yeah, and Jack, I don't think i'm doing I'm having success. I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. Like one of the hardest things in life is when you're successful to know if you're doing anything wrong. Right, So I'm leading the SEC in rebounding as a freshman, I'm leading the rebound sophomore

and as a junior. So I don't think that I'm doing anything wrong. And I get picked number five by the sixers and broke, don't fix that's right, But I'm not. Now I'm playing with real players, can't play at that weight. But don't know it. Just you know, I'm a rookie. Hey, rookie th ain't playing a time. I'm playing some minutes, but then I'm not getting no quality minutes. And so Moses, Me and Moses happened to live in the same building. Moses lived in the penhouse. I live on like the

sixth floor, if I remember correctly. And I said, Mo, can I come see you tonight? And I said, he said sure, And I called him dad even to the day and one of the most bittersweet things people his family knew how closely were. I got to speak at the du the eulogy at his funeral. I love that dude, But so I go up. I said, big Mode, why am I not getting to play old, young fella, you're fat and you're lazy playing it simple. I'm like what

he says, you're fat and you're lazy. He said, Charles can't play at three hundred pounds in the NBA, A young fella, you're too fat and too lazy, can't work hard at three hundred pounds. And I put downstairs and cried, not gonna lie. And but he said, he says, you want to lose weight. I come meet you before practice, I meet you out to practice. I said please, And this dude says, and he did it in a way. It's how smart he was. He did in a way. He says, let's lose ten pounds together. Yeah, he said,

let's lose ten pounds. He met me before practice, met me after practice. I get to two ninety and I noticed, like, even at ten pounds, I'm like, I can work a little bit harder. He said, Okay, let's lose ten more. I'm like, okay, I get to too eighties. Now I'm actually getting to play. He says, let's lose ten more. Now I'm at two seventy. Now I'm really getting to play. It's not acause I can work. I mean, thirty pounds a lot. Get to two sixty. Now I'm starting. Now

I'm really can work. In my eyes out he says, I want to try something, I said. He says, let's get to two fifty. I'm like, okay, shit working, I'm good. I get to two fifty. Now I'm really starting. Things are really starting to take off. I staidly got to two forty, but I said, I don't feel strong. He said, two fifty is your weight. But he was so smart. If you had told me to lose fifty pounds, I was like, there's no fucking way I can lose fifty pounds. There's no way. And I lost to fifty pounds and

the rest is history. But for that guy taking me under his wing, first of all, he was already one of the best to ever do it. For him to take a little fat kid under his wing, it changed my whole life. It changed my whole life. So that's why, and that's why I called him Dad, and I just was really crazy. I just saw him at the Hall of Fame Friday, and as I always did, I gave him a hug and told him I loved him, and we hung out and had some fun at the Hall of Fame that Sunday. Well, I had to fly to

la the next day to shoot a Kirk commercial. I land in LA. I got a hundred messages, Yo, man, you all right, you all right? I'm calling a check on you. I love you, and I'm scrolling like everybody's checking on me. I'm like, what the fuck? And then finally says, man, call me. They had found him dead that that morning, because I'd been on a plane for like five hours, and I was like, I was so upset. I just stayed in my room the whole day because I didn't want to be friending to anybody. We was

shooting the commercial to the next day. I was like, I stayed in my room. I called my close friends. I said, man, I'm so, this is such a fucked up situation. So apparently he had he had went home to do his regular charity golf tournament and he didn't show up. And they found him in this hotel room. So I guess he died in his sleep. But man, when I got when I was looking, when I got that call, man, it was it was one of the worst days of my life. But I thank him for

taking this little fat kid under his wing. Because man, you guys know y'all been around a long time. We see motherfuckers eat out the NBA. So man moses, he's the most important person you know. And Doc was great, great. He taught me how to dress, he said, hey, because Doc was always immaculate to this. Yeah, he's like, Chuck, this is professional basketball. We don't dress. You got you can't be wearing warm up suits everywhere you go. He says,

we're professionals. And he taught me how to dress. He taught me how to save my money because he says, yo, man, how many cars you got? I said, I got like six. He says, how many can you drive? At the same time, I'm like, what do you mean? He says, uh, why you have six cars? And I couldn't give him a good answer. He said, Charles, everybody know who the fuck you are. He said, you ain't got to He said, you ain't got to impress these people. Everybody know you,

Charles Barkley. He said, son, take those cars back. You need one car. If you want to, that's fine, but the mother will take them back. He said, son, this money gotta last you for the rest of your life. He says, I know you think you're gonna play basketball a long time. He said, basketball is gonna be this shorter window of your life. He says, this money got to last you the rest of your life. And that

was a great lesson. I tell these young guys, your man you don't need, but I met says all the time, you don't need but one house and one car. If you want to splurge and get two cars, that's fine, but you don't need more than one house in one car. This money, it's going to last you to the rest of your life. And you don't know how long you're gonna live. And like I said, TV saved me because I would have been broke, probably because you know, we as black people, for some reason, we feel this need

to take care of everybody in our family. And Grant Hill's mom, one of the greatest ladies I've ever met in my life, gave me the best advice and I didn't never listened to it. We were at the ninety six Olympics, actually here in Atlanta, and Grant had just signed. She's one of the greatest women. We just lost her.

She's one of the greatest women I've ever met. And she was telling me and her and Cavin and Grant were having dinner at the Olympics, and she says, yeah, me and Capin got to go back to work tomorrow. I said, wait a minute, Grant, just because I think Grant was the first person signed a hundred million dollar deal, I said, grand you just signed for one hundred million dollars. Y'all gonna work, She says, chall sit your ass down. She says, let me tell you this. Do not take

care of your family and all your friends. Do not do that. You're gonna end up broke. But you know, she said, it's worst. And she said it's going to ruin every relationship you've ever had. And I said, what do you mean. She says, Number one, if you start giving your family and friends money, they're never going to stop. Never. But she said the worst thing. The first time you tell them no, they're gonna hate you. She says, if you've given them five million dollars the first time you

tell them no, they hate your ass forever. She was one hundred percent correct, And I said, well, first of all, it's too late. I'm taking care of everybody. And she says, if you can share my vision with these young black kids going forward, tell them they don't have to take care of their entire families and people in their neighborhood.

That's no rital law. If you want to do something nice for somebody in your family, that's you, but you don't have no moral obligation to take care of them forever. And man, I tell all these young black kids, man, you don't have no moral Like if you want to do something nice for your mom and dad and whatever, or your brothers and sister, nothing wrong with that, But to have them on the payroll and all your friends on the payroll, that's crazy. There's a reason eighty percent

of professional athletes go broke. That's it. But for some reason we feel just like, hey, I got to take care of everybody. No, you don't fuck that shit straight up.

while you're taking care of Why are they always with us? Yo? Man, go buy some suits. I remember I tell you the story about doctor j Him and Maurice Cheeks and guys. And I'm a rookie. I'm still wearing warm ups everywhere they take me. Shot today? What you doing today? I'm like nothing. I get to hang out with y'all. They're like, we going shopping. They take me to board Store Boys is a famous clothing store in Philly. Like they're like,

Chuck needs ten suits, ten sports coats and slacks. They fed me up and looking in the mirror and shit, ma reicing. The guys are just sitting back there looking yeah, okay, that's nice. That's good. Bill comes. It's like thirty two thousand dollars. I guarantee you ain't nobody my mom, my dad, my grandmother, ain't nobody in my house ever made thirty two thousand dollars a year. Bill. It's thirty two thousand dollars. They're like, pay the bill, young fellow. I call my agent.

I'm like, wow, I called my agent. Ia. Yo, man, I need thirty two thousand dollars. They're like what I said. The best took me shopping. They told me I'm dressing like a college kid. So they made me buy like ten suits, ten sports coach jackets and slacks, and like, yeah, that's the right thing. But stuff like that. They're like, you know, and at that time, we were flying commercials, so we're in the airport. But Doc and all those guys,

they're always immaculate, but you are one hundred percent. And you know now they're getting to change the rule back. We're going back to the drafting high school players. A high school player don't know what the hell he's doing, right, you know, they like they don't know how to eat. Like now, the ship was funny in the day. It was funny when I said on camera those two fish flays and large fry and die Coka probably shouldn't have

been eating that shit. Probably should not have been eating it. Like, yo, man, go get a healthy meal, I would tell a young guy. Now, I know you can get the two fish relays in a large fried at twenty one, well, eighteen nineteen. That

shit ain't gonna have no effect upon you. But you need to learn good habits and shared it with your kids because you know, like I said, you don't hey, you can share Like obviously I talked about earlier one of the you know, obesity, diabetes, those are big problems in the black community because we don't know how to eat. When you get in our position, like, yo, man, teach you how to eat. That's like I teach all my friends about credit cards.

blah blah blah, and then we pay the minimum. We go shopping every weekend, and then when I get to the NBA, my agent says, you got bills. We need to take care of it. See, I got some buildings, he says, like, he say, man, what all these bills you got? I said, man, we were getting over on tho his wife fulks, we were buying all this shit. He says, are you serious right now? I said, what do you mean him? I said? He says, so, y'all been buying all this shit, paying the minimum and keep

buying shit. He said, son, you know how credit cards work. I says, yeah, you get them and you buy shit. He like, son, you're only paying the interest. And he says, you see this thing you bought for two thousand dollars. At the rate you're going, you're gonna be paying like twenty two thousand dollars for it by the time you're done. And I remember, I said what he says. Yeah, this is how they get poor people. They get They give you a credit card, you pay the minimum, and you

don't ever ever end up paying it off. But by the time you pay it off, you paid like three times what it originally costs. And I called, I said, you need to go meet with all my college teammates. Said, man, we've been doing this shit the whole three years I've been in college and stuff like that. A VET like, you know, man, don't be you don't even know that. And you can teach that to your family. So that's

to go back to your point. Like every NBA team your pay a veteran like, hey, all our conversations are private, but I'm gonna teach you about life. Yeah, And the thing is just like yo, man, I know the game ain't to seven o'clock. I know you can stay out the three four in the morning, sleep all day, but they sleep ain't the same as a good night's sleep. Ship like that that a VET will tell you like like doctor, they tell me sometimes, hey, man, we got

a big game, go to bed. I'm like, what, Hey, they sleep ain't the same as nice sleep, Like BET's tell you shit like that. So, man, I'm one hundred percent with you. Every team should have like a veteran liaison, like, hey, you can ask me anything. I'm not don't go rap to the team. I'm not a gonna rap, but you're gonna have to listen to me. I think stuff like that would be huge.

two matchups. You got me and Karl Malone, who were the two best power for us in the world, and we're like, motherfucker, we're the best two, but I'm the one. Then you got Patrick and David trying to prove who's the best set in the world, and it was like we are, like no, I want you to know. Everybody was just like going at it like that, and it was so intense and it was so much fun because we had respect, like one of my best friends, but

like I want that motherfucker. No, I'm the best motherfucking power for it in the world. Yeah, and I get a chance to prove it. You don't have John Stockton and those guys and I don't have much like, yeah, we get to prove it every day, so you had that backdrop, so every day was like a game seven. I mean, it was so intense, but we still we're main friends after it was over. But man, our egos like like it was so it was so much fun. But it was in the practices I never I've never

been in my entire basketball life. I've never been. I think it's intense as those practices because everybody wanted to everybody has something to prove. But it was so much fun though. Man, it was awesome.

People think basketball always been on television. There used to be one game a week on NBC. There was no ESPN, there was no T n T. So most people in our my generation, they don't, they don't. They couldn't get games overseas and things like that. All those guys, when you talk to them, it's like the NBA. That was my first recollection of NBA basketball was the Dream Team and so but it was so crazy, man. I'll give

you an example. So in our hotel, you couldn't get in unless you were on the Dream Team or NBA or part of the Olympic thing. So from here to that wall was the bus. That was three to five thousand people standing up every day just to watch us get on the bus, screaming.

knew we were coming along the highway. There must have been thousands of people just studying on the side of the highway, just holding up signs. It was the craziest thing. Like we're driving there's people on the highway holding up Magic birds Jordan signs. I mean, it was. It was surreal. I mean it was like and we were kind of in shock, to be honest with you, because we didn't

know how big it was going to be. I mean, we knew it was going to be something, but to see it live, like, you know, man, there's three thousand people standing us side the hotel just to get a glimpse of us. I mean, obviously Magic buried and Michael with the three guys, but like we were in they flow.

I'm a really good player. I can get you thirty I can get your twenty rebounds. I said. It's hard to do it when the whole defense is stocked against you. When you're playing in an NBA game, I said, when I'm playing with these dudes, easy, this shit is easy. I said. I can score anytime I want to. I can get a rebound anytime I want to, I says I. I says, just like when I got traded to Phoenix, when I got MVP, I said, man, I've been a great player. I just got help now, I said, I

got Dan Marlon Kevin Johnson. I said, but I was a much better player in Philly. I just didn't have no help. I said. But my first year in Phoenix, I said, wait, y'all giving me Dan Marley and Kevin Johnson and said to Balas, Oh, yeah, we're good. I mean we're good and so but so it was it was if you're a great player, the game is easier with the better players. You play with round mound, the rebound, the nickname. So if you go back and look at my history. So we were trying to drum up support

at Auburn because you know we're a football school. So they came to me and says, hey, do you mind because they were going to do a story on me for Sports Illustrated. And I said, whatever, y'all do whatever, help the program because I need some help. I need some We ain't no good, I need some help. And they made a list of like criscal kid, the wide load from Leads, risc.

and I think, uh, bread Truck. I was bread Truck for a minute and then but I think by the end of my sophomore year, I was leading the league in rebound again. I think that's when it switched to round mound and rebound. Yeah, but man, it was like they were doing anything to drum up support. Yeah that was good. Yeah, that was stuck with you though, Yeah, stuck.

sleep all day, played, and go. When I got traded them, I'm like, yeah, man, it's December and we're walking around in shorts. I'm like, damn, we don't have to be cold all the time. Philly is cold and shit too. Once you get cold in Philly, it's cold whole year. You're like, nah, let's don't do shit. It's cold outside, right. I'm like, Phoenix, Hey man, it's nice, let's go play golf. It's December to fifteenth, it's seventy degrees. Let's do this. And we got the best record in the NBA, and

we had a couple of pivotal moments. We get off to a slow start. The Bulls we picked to go. So I tell these guys, I with the owner the team. I says, Okay, this is the deal. We're going to the finals. I said, I think I'm the best basketball player in the world. We're going to the finals season. Yes, we're gonna play the Bulls for the championship. And I says, I think I'm the best player in the world. Michael just got more help. And this is the deal. I

don't need no bullshit. We're going to the finals. Nobody, We're gonna get there. So we get off to a pretty good start, and I know Michael, they're hyping the game up. Best team in the East, best team in the West. They come in and I know Michael, well, they stump us. I go ballistic. I said, hey, man, I fucking told y'all what we're gonna do. That motherfucker came here. He sent me a message, and we didn't meet the challenge. I said, we ain't working for the

job we got. We're working for the job we're gonna have. We gonna have to get better and quit fucking around. I said, we're not on their level right now. And that was the first turning point in our season. And we went on a long winning streak and we got it together and we finished with the best record in the NBA first round of the playoffs. Kevin gets hurt. No number one seed has ever lost. We're gonna be

the first. We played the Lakers. Kevin is hurt. We lose the first two games at home this best of five. After the game, we devastated. I'm like, but right now, I gotta figure something out. Our coach, Paul Westfall just passed away. Rest in peace. I'm thinking. I'm sitting in my locker. I'm like, what the hell am I gonna do? I gotta get this team ready. We're going to LA tomorrow. I'm thinking, like, what I'm gonna do? The motherfucker rest toward me, Like twenty of them says, did you hear

what your coach said? I said, no, I didn't. I was It's just like your coach said, guys, not gonna say much tonight. They kicked our ass twice. It's what's gonna happen. We're gonna go to l A win in game three, We're gonna go game go to LA. We're gonna stay down and win Game four. They gonna come back here. We're gonna kick their ass in game five, and we're gonna say what the hell of a series it was? And I says, oh, well, coach is right, let's go. I say, hey, I coach said it, And

I got to tell you something. I don't know what coach was doing, but it changed. The light came on in the locker room and I didn't even have to ask no question about us choking the first two games. In the five game, he said, you guys getting got like you guys gonna be the first number one seed to ever lose to the eight seed. And man, we went to La for game three. Them motherfuckers had Randon Newman. We love La, the crowd going crazy. We played great.

We actually beat them in game four. Bad come on for game five. It's a dog fight and James Worthy comes up to me after the game. He says, now, you better go win this thing. He said, young, He says, y'all showed me some go win this thing. The next round we play San Antonio. We beat them in six. I think that's when I hit the shot that closed down the arena, that dumpy ass arena y'all had down there. Yeah, no hemisphair Fair. Yeah. That was the last game I

ever played there. And that really was the one because he knocked you down on that three. Yeah, that was the one. Yeah. And then we played Seattle. Probably the best seven games, cheers I've ever been in, the best game I ever played in my life, Game seven when I had forty four and twenty four, best game I've ever played in my life. I remember this. It was a great series. We win one and two, they win three and four, We win five, they win six. And I pulled Frank Johnson aside. He was like my vet

to talk to the young guys. I said, hey, man, because everybody's quiet on the plane. That's long ass flight from Seattle, I says, Frank, get back here. I need to talk to you. I said, what I got to do. Everybody's down, everybody's nervous. Everybody's nervous a game self, not scared, just nervous as hyper. It's a long forty ours for those Game sevens. Getting ready. And I said, Frank, I got to get this team. I'm mostly ready for Game seven. What do I need to do? He says, oh, I

ain't worried. We got Game seven. I said, what do you mean? He says, let me ask you a question. You have been to the finals. I said nope. He says, I got the best fucking basketball player in the world on my team, and we we're gonna, we're gonna. You ain't gonna let us lose Game seven. And I says, what he says, Charles, you told me you were the best basketball player in the world. You got one game to get to the finals. You ain't never been to

the finals. He says, you better not let us fucking lose. I said, we're good, and I said before game seven, I said, boys, were going to the finals. Get on, let's go, get on my back. We're going. And I end up playing the best game.

way I normally did it was. I normally tried to get everybody involved in game one to get at home. I'm more aggressive on the road, because you know that's what stars do. They're more aggressive on the road. So game one, I was like, I need to get these guys started so they can get their confidence. Everybody's a little nervous. I'm not nervous, but these other guys never been in high pressure situation like that. So Game one, I was like, I was a little passive. They beat us.

Game two, I said, fuck this shit, I'm going for it. And I said, I'm a whatever it takes, and I come out I'm fucking so aggressive. But Michael, no, I'm fucking aggressive. He's like, I can see he's talking to Horace and Scotty. He's like, y'all got slow that motherfucker down. Because Horrace, to me, was one of the more underrated players. Him and Scotty Man. When they doubled me, I couldn't see shit. They were so long and athletic. I couldn't

see shit. But I still I finished with like forty eight, forty nine somewhere in there, twenty six something like that. But Michael fucking had like fifty five. Motherfucker would not let me win that game. And I remember, yeah, I remember going home. When I got home, my daughter was upset and I said, I told her. I had told her before. I said, ain't nobody in the world better at basketball than your dad, and we're gonna win this fucking series. When I got home, she was crying and

I was like, she's dad. I thought you told me y'all were gonna win, I said, I said, Christianna, I ain't never said this before. I think there's somebody better at basketball than me, you know, because you know it's Michael and Larry and Magic. I says, I loved it. Those guys are all great. But I says they're great because he has Kareem, he has James Worthy, Michael got Horrors and Scottie and Bird got Michael in Paris. I says, I know, I'm just as good as those motherfuckers, but

they just had more help. But I said, but going back to the forty twenty game, twenty four game, I was like, I can wield my team to win. But Michael, when I that night, when I was like, this motherfucker ain't gonna let me win this thing. Cause like I said, like I said, I had my forty something and he had fucking fifty times. So then so I said, hey, you know your dad, he ain't never gonna quit a give up. We're gonna be all right, right. So we

go to Chicago and that's a triple overtime game. We win, and I'm like, Okay, I might can do this thing. The next game, this motherfucker goes okay, so this uh no. So the next game, I think he had another fifty five. He was gonna end this shit. He was gonna end this shit, and they beat us. It was a hell of a game. Then before it came five, like, guys, we're gonna be all right, So before the all day long, you know, you don't do ship. You can't go out becally on the road.

on a three pointer. But man, when I got to game five, I was like, ain't no fucking way were losing, guys, because we sit there and watch that thing and talking about they were boarding up the city, talking about act like y'all got some common sense and don't be going crazy burning up cars and shit like y'all did the last time they won the championship. So I was but man, stuff like that. I missed that.

be successful because of the people around him. I think he hires too many of his friends. And because your friends don't ever tell you no. The hardest thing about being famous is because you're paying all the bills, they're on your private jet. They're not gonna tell you when you're doing something wrong. And I said that I didn't because he was struggling as a general manager, a running

the team. And I said, I don't know if he's ever going to be successful because the people around him are never going to tell him no, and like, yeah, don't draft that dude, we need to trade that dude. Blah blah blah, and he went ballistic and he called me and that's the last thing I heard was motherfucker, fuck you. You're supposed to be my boy and blah blah, And I said, man, man, I got to do my job. And we haven't spoken since that night, and that was probably close to ten years ago.

once he was old. I could use him. But you talk about grun up poor and getting shoes and things like that, it's so crazy to shit that's happening. You think, you think about how lives have changed so much. I mean, I'm sitting there thinking, like I tell that story, like, yeah, my mom used to bring my shoes to the game, like they had to last the whole season, and she came and got them right after the game and I didn't get them back until So, man, some of this

stuff you think about our lives. Now, I'm sponsored by Jordan now. So it's so crazy, isn't it. I Mean, it's just a crazy blessing, A blessing, blessings I tell people all the time. Man, I got the honor and the privilege to be Charles Barkley. It's such a blessing.

Found a four Saturday at the Olympics. My job at the Final four is one of the craziest, coolest things I've ever got an opportunity to do. But also the Olympics. Man, No TV doesn't do the Olympics justice. You go to the Olympics, into the Final four. But to see those young kids, I mean, man, what they accomplished will probably never be accomplished again. To get to the finals two years to the final four, two years in a row with the same group of freshmen and son boys, I mean,

it's incredible. I mean, well, obviously now because you know kids leaving so early. It'll never be done again. But it was incredible.

kids especially look up to us and so. But what I was noticing was when I was going speak to it, but it's always talk to kids about education because one thing we need to value more, especially in black community, is education. I think we get so enamored because most of the famous black people that know are rich because of sports being entertainment. They don't realize that most people have to get a real job. So my thing is, when I was going to these schools, I said, well,

how many y'all want to play sports? And I noticed at the black schools, pretty much every kid raised their hand, and I was like, oh, that's interesting. But when I go to a white school, I said, well, how many of y'all want to play sports? Only about ten percent raised their hand. I said, what do you want to do? I want to be a doctor. I want to be a lawyer. I want to be an engineer. I want to be a teacher, fire and policeman, things like that.

So I kind of start paying attention. For like a couple of years, I said, guys, we got too many black kids think they can only be successful through athletics and entertainment. They don't think they can be doctors and lawyers and engineers and shit like that. And I said, we need to do something about that. So I called a meet with Nike. I said, I got this commercial I want to make. They're like your fucking nuts. They're like fucking nuts. And I said no, I says, he says,

you're gonna get killed. I said, that's fine. I can handle it. I dude, I play in fucking Philly. I thought my name was Charles Barker, your motherfucker for like five years. There's nothing I'm not gonna be offended or upset by anything like that. And he says, are you sure? I says, I'm positive. So I made the commercial. Obviously it blew up and craziness, and I said, and I went on and explained what I was trying to do,

and it turned into a real positive thing. And in fairness to Nike, they came to back to me late and says, hey, we were wrong. We ninety percent of our letters we got was so positive on that commercial. And I says, all I was doing was trying to the start a debate because I've got to get these black kids to stop thinking they can only play sports to be successful. And like I say, I just wanted to start like a debate and it turned it turned out to be perfect because I'm forty I'll be forty

five in April. You a role model to me. You'll appreciate it. But I think these young brothers, man and sisters, like we can be doctors and lawyers and engineers anything.

And I said, dude, the Sons are not shopping me. He said, let me ask you a question. If we trade for you, you want a new contract? I said, dude, I got a contract. He said, are you gonna hold out for a new contract? I says, dude, stop at the son. He's a good friend of mine, he says. I says. I called the Sons. I said, hey, man, are y'all shopping me? Like, no, man, You're the only player we got. Blah blah blah blah blah. I'm like okay. Three hours later, Charles, are you gonna want a new

contract and we trade for you. I said, yo, man, I talked to the sons. Ain't nothing going on? And nothing going on, Charles, I'm asking you this for the last Are you gonna hold out or anything if we make the trade. I'm like, yo, man, no, because at that point I knew they were full of shit. The signs were and they made the trade and I had to make the best of it. I enjoyed playing with the King in Clyde. I hate that we were all over the hill and we had two good years. Well

we lost. I think we lost in the conference finals one year. I got hurt, one year, I got hurt one year, and then we lost in the conference finals. And I always want to thank Rudy tom Janovic because my last two years I couldn't play dead.

because you didn't play. I said, no, no, no, no, there's strategy in basketball to just go to the gym saying we're just gonna jack up threes all night and If we make them, we win. If we miss them, we lose. And the only thing that boss me. I said, hey, all, you motherfuckers can't be good three point shooters, right, I said, wait a minute. If you're a good three point shooter,

all y'all motherfuckers ain't Steph and Clay right. I says, I don't mind guys shooting threes, but your big guys are shooting threes.

ideal gonna win the championship. I said, Denver's gonna finish with the best record because I think they got the best team. But you're gonna need a dog. You're gonna need a dog at some point. And I think it's gonna be Jamal Murray. I said he's gonna be the key. I says, greatest joker is at some point in a basketball game, you got to get a ball to it. I said this on air. I said, he said, hey, get me one, and I says, Jamal Murray is a

guy who can do that. I love what they went out going to get Brown and KCP and so Denver. To me, looks like, man, they're gonna be a handful. But I think my sons are done because once you lose that chemistry on the team, I don't think you can get it back. And I think they've lost it. They don't like each other and once because I think you got to. Every team has as clicks, but you have to like and respect each other if you're going to win. Milwaukee and Boston, I think they've separated themselves

in the East and the intriguing team is gonna be Brooklyn. Uh. I think it's gonna come down to Ben Simmons because I think Katie and Kyrie are gonna do their thing, but Ben Simmons is gonna be the wild card. He has to be a factor somewhere.

I really love that boy, Yannis him and Russell Westbrook. I've never seen NBA players play harder than those two guys. You know, Russell does he have flaws, yes, But I'm never gonna say anything bad about a man who plays that hard every single night.

but you know, Joel's fantastic, Steph, Steph. I mean, so it's some great players out there, and they're fine to watch. I just wish they would bring a little bit more strategy into the game instead of just saying, hey man, let's just jack up a bunch of threes.

But nobody ever said, man, that Michael Jordan's a nice guy. I'm like they did.

because that's the old school. I had record player growing up, and I didn't know they were making a comeback, but I got when Dre went excuse me, when Chuck gave me that vinyl about a year and a half ago, I went out and bought me a record player. So I been going to a record store like once a month, picking out. I just I just got uh Thriller, the new Bruno Bruno mars Man. But like I say, most of my stuff is uh jay Z, Tupac Biggie. And then we had it blowing up last night and.

you can't smoke hookah in the building. He goes out in the parking lot and he's smoking hookah and he loves it. He loves it, and he just makes us laugh man, because he's got a pure hard but man, when he first came there, but the tea that was really funny. He come like the first night, he do some funny, Second night, he do some funny. Third NIGHTY do something funny. And then he says then he says like, hey, I need you guys. I need you guys. I want

to try this next week. We're like, yo, man, you know we're on TV like one hundred and some days you can't try to do some shit every night and other so seriously, so we're like the joke around the studio became like, hey, we like five shows from Shaq settinghimself on fire on TV because he was actually thinking like I've got to out.

in the morning. I said, if the games are good, we're good. But if we got ship games, we got to make people still watch. That's when we have to come up with Silly's two days. I said, So, so let the game play out before you come up with some ship so so, but it's been fun, man, be at home righting do this today. Yeah, I was like, it was be like, yo, man, let the game play out, because, like I said, you want people to watch, but they're not going to watch from seven to one thirty if

it shipped games. So let the games play out. But now he's got it, man, he's got it. Best boxing fight you've ever seen live. We've seen one hundred of them, right, I will probably say Hagler hearns it was there live. Yeah, wow, I was there for field the bite. I was there for the bite. Hears though, Yeah, I was there with so it was so funny. That was in Vegas. So you know, we we you know, you play golf all day and you're getting your drink on. I love to

drink and love to gamble. So we see this motherfucker circling and we look up and said, man, this motherfucker real close to the ring. Yes, yes, and they're like, man, ship the fuck up? You just drunk? I said, no, man, motherfuck up on want of them gliders up here. About an hour later, the motherfucker's in the ring. But I've been Oh, I'll tell you a funny story about boxing. I'm with Magic Michael Patrick Ewing and they're all like early in my career. I'm a young buck on the

totem pole. They make me go get drinks and I come back and taxon already. I knocked this motherfucker out.

everything hurts, what position, defensive tackle? I'm sitting there, I'm exhausted, I'm bleeding a couple of places, head hurting coaches. I see y'all tomorrow. All right, I'm doing this shit tomorrow. I'm not doing this shit tomorrow. No, hell don't know. I'm done, and I like coach, So take my shower, pull my ship up. That's a coach. This ain't for me. Yeah, I was taking that the other night when that young kid Lamar got hurt.

You can get hurt in those sports every single time you lay them up and that's why they are my two favorite sports. You can't you can't play boxing.

who's better, who's better? Hey, and let me say if you beat me, let me get my ass back in the gym and see if I can get better.

the Eastern Conference champions. We got got it. Yeah that ain't good enough. But man, so that's the only thing that bothers me about boxing. But I love it. Yeah, hopefully they'll get back to it.

get to college, play there even less. Then to get then you get to the Big Boy even less. And if you get there, you're like, damn man, much respect. You got to the dance and everybody's trying to get to the dance.

to motherfuckers. Cool. They never in my life. We had doctor Fauci.

be like, yeah, that'll be cool. And uh so yeah, keep doing it and getting crazy people on there, like there's people you was like, I ain't no way in the hell I thought I'd be sitting in the room with you getting to ask you questions. And it's pretty special, man, Thanks for having me.

oh yeah, let's make it work. And I'm glad because when we when we when you first hit me, I was like, fuck, I'm shooting commercials and I said, okay, I'm so glad y'all were able to stay because I was like, Man, I because you know, you know, when you shoot a commercial, you show up like seven in the morning, get out of there like nine at night.