{"id":1504,"date":"2021-11-24T11:44:29","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T16:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/?post_type=inductees&p=1504"},"modified":"2022-01-07T13:13:03","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T18:13:03","slug":"charles-barkley","status":"publish","type":"inductees","link":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/inductees\/charles-barkley\/","title":{"rendered":"Charles Barkley"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many sports fans know\u00a0Charles Barkley<\/strong>\u2019s manifold nicknames:\u00a0Sir Charles, the Chuckster, the Round Mound of Rebound<\/a>. Now they have a new one to learn: Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer.<\/p>\n

An unabashed analyst on one of the most successful studio shows in the history of sports entertainment,\u00a0Inside the NBA<\/em>, Barkley is always willing to discuss any topic at any time and go toe-to-toe with anyone in the business. His brutal honesty has provided unfettered insights into the psyche of a professional basketball player and a character who plays by his own set of rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no one like Charles,\u201d says Turner Sports President\u00a0Lenny Daniels<\/strong>. \u201cThere never will be. He is one of the most influential figures in sports history, with a personality and voice that transcend the entire media industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long before gracing the masses with his on-air persona, Barkley made his way through the high school basketball ranks in Leeds, AL. Having nabbed a starting spot on the varsity team his senior year, he blossomed into a player who averaged 19.1 points and 17.9 rebounds per game. His efforts led the Leeds High School Green Wave to a 26-3 record in 1981 and the program\u2019s fourth appearance in the state tournament.<\/p>\n

His stellar play didn\u2019t garner attention from collegiate coaches, but his luck would change in the state semifinals vs. Huntsville\u2019s S.R. Butler High School. Going against the top-ranked recruit in Alabama, McDonald\u2019s All-America and future NBA sixth-round pick Bobby Lee Hurt, Barkley dropped 26 points and attracted the notice of Auburn University Assistant Coach Charles H. Smith.<\/p>\n

During his time with the orange and blue, Barkley ascended to elite-level player, winning the 1984 SEC Player of the Year Award and 1984 SEC Tournament MVP, holding the school record for field-goal percentage at 64.4%, and being named to the All-SEC First Team in 1984 and All-SEC Second Team in 1982 and 1983. The university retired his No. 34 in 2001, making him one of only six players to have their jersey hang in the Auburn Arena rafters in the program\u2019s 116-year history.<\/p>\n

Barkley was once an overlooked short and stocky kid from Leeds, but NBA scouts clamored for his instinctual feel for the game and his bulldog tenacity. The Philadelphia 76ers won the sweepstakes and drafted him with the fifth overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. Over his 16-year professional career, he racked up countless accolades, including 11 All-Star appearances, back-to-back Olympic gold medals with the 1992 \u201cDream Team\u201d in Atlanta and in 1996 in Barcelona, 1993NBA MVP, and the rebounding title in 1988. He was one of six players with 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 4,000 assists; his No. 34 was retired by the 76ers, and he was included in the Phoenix Suns\u2019 Ring of Honor. He was selected for the NBA 50th-Anniversary Team in 1996 and NBA 75th-Anniversary Team in 2021. His playing days culminated with enshrinement in both the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.<\/p>\n

When he decided to hang up his shoes and retire from the professional game, folks in the NBA knew that Barkley wouldn\u2019t stay away too long.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a larger-than-life personality and unique perspective on the game,\u201d says NBA Commissioner\u00a0Adam Silver<\/strong>, \u201cCharles has endeared himself to generations of NBA fans as he did throughout his Hall of Fame playing career. Charles is one of the smartest, most entertaining, and influential commentators in all of sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

After retirement, Barkley joined the 12-year-old\u00a0Inside the NBA\u00a0<\/em>and launched his second act as one of the most beloved \u2014 and, at times, most controversial \u2014 figures in 20th century sports television. At the time, Turner Sports as a whole was coming of age on the sports scene, and, with the show\u2019s dynamic in the early stages nurtured by\u00a0Ernie Johnson<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Kenny \u201cThe Jet\u201d Smith<\/strong>, Barkley began moving the needle with his often-out-of-bounds sense of humor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe free-wheeling format at TNT allowed him to be Charles,\u201d notes Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer and legendary sportscaster\u00a0Bob Costa<\/strong>. \u201cHe gets away with saying things that would get other people in trouble or gets to do what he wouldn\u2019t be able to do anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the show picked up steam throughout the mid to late 2000s, Barkley found his niche: part class clown and part basketball genius. Soon enough, serving up knowledgeable information about a certain play or game alongside a hilarious joke was working well with the fanbase.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would\u2019ve been a viral sensation,\u201d says\u00a0Albert \u201cScooter\u201d Vertino<\/strong>, SVP, programming, Turner Sports, \u201cbut we didn\u2019t have the technology back then. I used to talk about how he was kind of like our King Midas: whatever he spoke about turned to gold.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cviral\u201d moments were bountiful, but today social media has a field day with his playful antics. For instance, the four-time Sports Emmy Award\u2013winner\u00a0\u201cguaranteed\u201d<\/a>\u00a0that the Brooklyn Nets would sweep the Boston Celtics in the 2021 NBA Eastern Conference First Round after a Nets 130-108 win in Game 2. The Celtics went on to win Game 3, 125-119, to avoid the sweep and ruin Barkley\u2019s prediction. In a popular segment \u201cWho He Play For?\u201d<\/a>, Barkley tries to guess (and regularly fails) to correctly guess the NBA team that a random player is on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is all about the most respected NBA analyst\u2019s not knowing which teams particular players play for,\u201d says ESPN\u00a0SportsCenter\u00a0<\/em>anchor\u00a0Stan Verrett.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cEverybody has so much fun in the fact that he doesn\u2019t know any of these players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the time, his knack for being unpredictable makes for appointment viewing. Fans flock to the pre\/postgame and halftime shows during the NBA season to see what Barkley will say next. Over the course of the show\u2019s existence, that could very well be the secret sauce of its success.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the history of the business,\u201d says Turner Associate Director Sports\u00a0Shawn Gerchicoff<\/strong>, \u201cthere are three people who you\u2019ll watch regardless of what the score is. The first one was Howard Cosell, the second was John Madden, and now it\u2019s Chuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar to the way he played in high school, collegiate, or professional basketball games, Barkley is able not only to share the stage with Johnson, Smith, and Shaquille O\u2019Neal but also to take over the show by commenting on more-serious topics, such as the\u00a0death of Kobe Bryant<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0the league\u2019s stance on social-justice issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur willingness to talk about things other than basketball that are more socially important stems a lot from Charles being on the show,\u201d says Johnson.<\/p>\n

Some of the conversations can spark a nuanced and meaningful discussion or draw a backlash from an opposing group, but Barkley remains true to himself and doesn\u2019t let his convictions be swayed by others.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I like about Charles is that he\u2019s unafraid of input,\u201d says\u00a0Michael Wilbon<\/strong>, host of ESPN\u2019s\u00a0Pardon the Interruption<\/em>. \u201cMost people that famous and rich want an amen chorus, but he isn\u2019t interested in an amen chorus.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than two decades after entering the sports-media landscape,\u00a0Inside the NBA\u00a0<\/em>has won 15 Sports Emmy Awards, has a\u00a0four-part documentary<\/a>, and has turned into the prime example of what studio shows strive to become.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlong with Ernie, Kenny, and Shaq,\u201d says former Turner Sports President\u00a0David Levy<\/strong>, \u201c[Barkley has helped establish]\u00a0Inside the NBA<\/em>\u00a0as the most iconic sports studio show in the history of television. Off the air, Charles is one of the most gracious and loyal people you will come across and is revered in the halls of Turner Sports because he treats everyone like they are part of his family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barkley continues to offer player-centric viewpoints on the current era of the sport and serve up laughter and lighthearted moments to the beat of his own drum.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis basketball IQ, quick wit, unfiltered opinions, and self-deprecating demeanor have informed and entertained countless fans,\u201d says Daniels. \u201cHe is so deserving of this prestigious honor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1505,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[55],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductees\/1504"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductees"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/inductees"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sportsbroadcastinghalloffame.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}