Charles Barkley returns to Club Shay Shay, delving even deeper into the intricacies of basketball, life, and the world at large. Charles reminisces about everything from the Dream Team, including why Isiah Thomas was left off the team, the Olympics being the best event he ever was a part of and what it felt like to be considered one of America’s best. Charles goes on to share insights on the modern NBA landscape; Barkley provides a compelling perspective on the evolution of basketball and the impact of legendary former and current players alike. He offers astute observations on the shifting dynamics of the game, from the media’s favor of offense over defense to the nuances of player monetary indulgences and this year’s MVP race. With characteristic candor, Barkley shares personal anecdotes, from his culinary preferences to his interactions with fellow athletes and media personalities. He reflects on the challenges of navigating public scrutiny and media criticism, offering glimpses into his own journey of self-discovery and growth. Amidst discussions on sports, race, and societal responsibility, Barkley's unwavering authenticity shines through, as he grapples with complex issues with nuance and humility. From humorous exchanges to poignant reflections, this episode encapsulates the essence of Club Shay Shay—a platform for unfiltered dialogue and genuine connection. Join Shannon Sharpe and Charles Barkley as they traverse the terrain of sports, culture, and beyond, inviting listeners on a compelling voyage of introspection, inspiration, and enlightenment.
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Thank you for coming back. Part two is underway. The Dream Team. Let's clear this up. The Dream Team was supposed to take the best eleven NBA players. It was the best twelve players. They ended up taking eleven NBA players and they took Christian Layner. Yes, a lot of people believe that Isaiah Thomas was one of the best eleven NBA players. A lot of people believe Charles he was better than John Stockton. I think he was a better player than Johnson.
Then why didn't he get to go on the team.
Well, you know, Shannah, number one, that is an amazing question because I'm so glad I get a chance to straighten it out.
Yes, please straighten it out. Number one.
They never asked me about Isaiah Thomas, okay, and it just came out and I can't speak for the other guys, but they never asked me personally about Isaiah Thomas, and Isaiah Thomas probably should have been on the team. And they asked Michael Jordan did he have anything to do with it? And then it actually just came out in the last year where he said I'll play as long as I say don't so, and then you got to have him. But you're going over the seat. You got to take the biggest guy. So I don't notice personally, but I think it was Jack McCallum who said he had it on tape and he played it because I've been asked that question a thousand times due they never asked me about Isaiah Thomas, but.
Apparently Michael didn't want him on the team. Was on the team?
Yeah, whoever, Michael, they want them team. We're not going to be on the team. But I will tell you something, man, I've been so lucky and blessed in my life. Ain't nothing like the Olympics. It's the most cool event that I've ever been to. I didn't we had no idea how big it was going to be when we got there, because I tell people that was probably a twelve foot window, maybe fifteen feet where they could see us get on the bus. Man, it was five to ten thousand people out there every day just to get a glimpse of us, mainly obviously Michael, Magic and Bird even though Yeah, but they were just screamed to watch these guys walked. And then when we took off, there was a helicopter above the bus. There was a police car in front police car and back there was two guys on motorcycles and one on the back had on the back of had a machine gun.
There was people along the highway holding up signs.
It was and we we're like, whoa, this is some real here. This is a real deal. And we were like, yeah, man, this is Did you know it would be this big, not even close. Nobody did. We had no idea. We like, I mean concerns though, you know, we never really experienced anything like that, right, And then we were like, whoa, this is a big deal. I mean peop us on the highway holding up signs, hundreds of them. But when we walk and say when we walk out every day to go to the game, it was five to ten thousand people. They were like fifty yards away and they could only see us walk like twelve to fifteen feet, but they were screaming.
It was crazy. Uh but it was. It was.
It was. It's a more. But being at the Olympics itself was such a cool one. And I tell people when when they're playing that national anthem and with me and bird Magic, all the guys playing that, yes, and we're like we're like, we're all getting Goosebomps.
I mean it was, it was. It was surreal.
You do realize what you guys did is that you birthed an era, the Nicola Jokichi, Yeah, the Luka Danjis yea.
Those guys came.
They saw they probably wasn't born then, but their parents and people, coaches, they saw that.
The dirt and the biscuits.
Yeah, the page because at the time, if I'm not mistaken, the only guy that I can remember end that there was like Sabonas Yeah, I think Paysia, yep, Saruna's Barcelona's up.
There were only a handful.
It's not littered like and I don't mean that in a nagative term, but it wasn't the influx or four European players like it is now.
Well.
Shout out to the great late David Stern. I think that was his vision, to be honest, to make the game international right. And when I it was really funny, Like the first time I met Dirt Nobisky. Uh, he was like eighteen and we're overseas. This is a Nike trip and he's got like thirty at halftime, and I got like Scotty Pippin and some other kid we got like Nike was always ahead of the curve, taking us to foreign countries to church, got like thirty and Scotty was like one of the best defenders in the world.
He's like, I got him, I got him, got finished like fifty something.
You ain't got his guy, And I said, yo, man, who the hell are you? He got that Dick German, my name is dirt and NOVISTI I'm eighteen.
I said, eighteen, you want to go to Auburn. I says, just name your price. We're good.
He's like what he said, I want you to go to my college. I said, hey, told the Nike guys get this information. They called me back a week later, No, because he said something. He says, I got to go in the army. I said, yo, man, you see hi feet talking. Not going to the damn army. You're not going in the army. Nobody going out, no sell foot person army and I and they called me back like a month later. I said, chuck, you know they changed the ruse. Now he's going to go in the draft. I said, okay. And you know people don't even realize this. You know, he didn't get drafted by the maps. He got drafted by Milwaukee and I hate to say this, and I apologize to his family. It's probably going to go down one of the worst trades in NBA history because they traded for Robert Tractor. Trailer. It did, and Trailer was a nice kid. Rest in peace. But that's probably gonna go down. That's a bad trade because Dirk's up until to Joker, he was the greatest foreign player ever, right, and when the Joker finished, you would taking him over Eliju Wana's foreign born player. Uh, you know, I kind of look at it different because because you, like a king did play on American so well. But yeah, yeah, these guys can't. Yeah, the NBA shout out that Kim. It was an honor and privilege to play with him also, but listen, by the time, the best foreign born player, Yes, it's over the past.
Dirt, he passed Dirt. It's over it.
Listen because you know, I they might. I think they're gonna win this thing again. Did you think I remember watching him? I fought his career since he obviously I played in Denver and I've been following him and I watched him in the bubble in twenty twenty and I watched Anthony Davis gave it to it.
Yeah, but now it's over. He's on a different jump. Yeah.
I mean the guy can give you thirty twenty if fifteen, Like there's nothing he can't do well offensively.
Well, it's crazy.
Like last night, Yes, we were making a big deal because Aaron Gardon played fantastic, Yes, fantastic. Jamal Murray played great, and then we were looking at the stats last night, We're like, yo, man, the Joker had twenty four fifteen and nine. Doctor the easiest, twenty four to fifteen to nine. And we did and we didn't miss him on thirteen shots. We did not even miss him. We made a big deal. We interviewed Aaron Gardon because he had career hiding points and assists of rebound. Excuse me, And I was looking at the stats. I said, man, Joker had twenty four to fifteen and nine. And it was so quiet. We didn't even talk about it. But you know, I mean, you know what, there's two interesting stories in the NBA that people never talk about, Steph Curry and Joker. If people you talk about people who deserve the job and people who should get fired, you know that when the Golden State Warriors had to make a big decision between Steph Curry and.
Monte Ellis.
Yes, and most people got mad they traded Monte because Steph was always hurt her. And same thing with Joker Nurkic. Yep, they were like, y'all should keep Nurkic instead of the Joker. And you think about how different one guy got four championship and he's one of the greatest players in NBA history, and this guy is gonna be about to get his thirty years. Yes, those do you talk about changing the entire dynamics of your franchise of history. That's amazing that, like, we made the right decision and yo win the second round.
I know, I know.
But they had to make that decision and the same thing because they knew that Monte Ellis and Steff that you can't play too little guards like that, and people were mad on both accounts.
That's how crazy this this is.
Chuck the Athletic had a pole and this guy has been winning most Overrated for like the last five years, and that's Rudy Gobert.
Why does Rudy get so much flat?
Well, I think that we don't we won't we don't respect defensive players.
But you know, I love ESPN, love ESPN.
We don't show block shots unless it's after thatwards shot down lebron chased down.
We never showed defense.
We show guys making shots and dunking like Espen is amazing. Don't get me wrong, But in a two hour game, they show you a minute, maybe a minute. I doubt if they The highlights of the game lasts longer.
Than a minute.
Right, They ain't showing Rudy Gobert blocking shots or changing shots.
Woby, Now, Woby, we're showing winby blocking.
Yeah, yeah, because but but they gonna show him making threes and all behind his back and the everything. But you know, we don't show defensive defensive players like you think about it. In the NFL, we talk about uh, the Boser brothers, Michael Parsons, Uh, we don't. We very seldom talk about defensive players because defense isn't pretty like unless Michael Parson's making a sack of something. One of the Bosa brothers, Hutchison in Detroit, Aaron Donald, who's amazing. Shout out to Aaron Donald, man, it's been an honor and the privilege to watch you play. But we only show offense. Yeah, because now it's an offensive era.
You don't.
They don't let you play football like they had when they had buckets and they had alt or Ray Lewis's or the running loss that were decapitating people out there. They don't want to show that side of the game because they're trying to clean it up and said, look, we're trying to stay away from you know, we want to make the game safer. But you want to see all these one handed You go see every one handed catch that happens on Sunday.
You go see that.
You're gonna see that the greatest This is the greatest player of all time. It seems to be a two man race now, Michael Jordan, Lebron James nothing eight. Kareem Kareem is the most underrated player in the history of the NBA. Yes, he's the He was the all time leading scorer, the third or the third leading rebody. He won six m v P five championships, and that biggest seemed like the man was with some sauce. Yeah. Well, I got a number of the admiration for Kareem. First of all the activists. He's always been. Yes, you know, I find the let let's talk about the Michael Lebron thing. They played in different eras, and there they're in my opinion, they're right there. You can it's either alb But I will say this about Lebron numb one. I like him a lot as a person. I think he's a nice guy. Never said that about Michael Jordan.
And he'll kill you. He'll kill you. I've said this two things.
It's I put Kobe right there also, But Michael and Kobe will kill you. Lebron's a nice guy. Michael and Kobe will kill you. If they played against his sister, she's gonna get her kicked. Lebron like he ain't gonna beat up his sister. But I will say this about Lebron. I think it's the greatest story of any jock who's ever lived, because if you go back and look about guys who came out of high school, people forget Kobe struggled early. He did, Kevin Garnett struggled early. Lebron James is the only one because we had his first game, I said, Lebron James is the only one who didn't struggle right away. Right he came in and was a good player. He wasn't great, great, great right away, but he was a good player. But also in this generation where everybody's got a cell phone and people out to get you, he's never gotten in trouble. He's exceeded what BnB expectation, any expectations, whatever you thought he could beat. And because he was the chosen one on the cover of Sports Illustrated at seventeen, So whatever you thought he could.
Beat, he's just eclipsed it. He's eclipsed it. And to never get in.
Trouble in this generation, like I said, you know, everybody's got a cell phone. Now people are deliberately trying to get you. Yes, I think it's the greatest sports story ever in my opinion.
Being a mom didn't go to college.
They gave the keys to the franchise to an eighteen year old kid and says, we're only gonna go as far as you take us. And like you said, he's been a model citizen both own and off. Obviously, the building, the brand Jordan gave. You gave everybody the blueprint, and we see Kevin Durants, we see the Steph courage, we see the Lebron James starting production company, being active outside. Give Junior Bridgeman some creaty two people don't know who the well, every time I say Junior, I say thank you because magic is kind of taken over now. Oh yes, but Junior was a good player. But his portfolio owning all those restaurants, probably being the first bigon are athlete to be honest with you him Dave being and also is an amazing businessman. But every time I see Junior Bridgeman, like for a guy who didn't make a ton of money, that's.
What's so impression.
Didn't have the name, didn't have the name to learn how to handle business, and he's probably got five hundred to a thousand restaurants now, and like, does it so low key?
Does it so low key? Like?
Every time around here, I try to pick his brain because the one like it's it's different now because these guys make so much money. Yeah, I said back in our day, you I said, dude, And I'm not poo pooing on this either.
I want to.
I want to make a clear because you know, when I say, it's gonna sound stupid. The most money I made was five million dollars. That was my last year, right, I says, Now, that's below the minimum. I says, to be a businessman in our day and become a billionaire, you are a grated business.
You're a grated business. And he wasn't a name. People wanted to detach themself to Magic.
Yes, people wanted to attach themselves to mic Yes, he was Junior Bridge. Just a great businessman and a good dude. Here's his to me is one of the greatest stories ever. And if I was the NBA, I would bring him in every year to my team's teams and said, gods, because what people don't understand. Everybody on an NBA team or NFL team ain't making a lot of money, true, or ain't gonna play a lot of years. Tenth people the average in both sports, the average years about four years. Those two guys who need a junior Bridgeman. That's like, you know, I was watching the draft last night and it's always annoyking about young kids, and I like, these dudes got a lot of a ton shirts iceed out. I don't mind a little ice, but too much ice. They got d oys shoes, I says, they do know that money ain't gonna last forever, right, get you a pair of Nikes? I'm not paying for no d oors shoes.
But you gotta be nice.
You had that cranberry food on. You were nice with little skinny cow. There's nothing wrong with a nice suit. But I tell these guys, you know, shouting, When I first was an idiot, when I became't got my money, I had like h three or four cars, And Doctor J says, how many those cars can you drive? At the same time, I said, what do you mean? He says, how many of those cars you gotta drive? At the same time, I said one. He says, well, why you got four? He said, Chuck, this money got to last you for the rest of your life. He says, this money got to last you the rest of your life. He says, son, don't waste all your money on cars. Everybody know who you are.
He said.
You pull up in a kill they know, Oh, that's Charles Barkley. You pull up in a Mercedes Benz, a Royal Ross. They says, that's Charles Barkley. But the problem is that money. It's not the fact that you can't afford that car, right, the fact that that three hundred thousand dollars you spend on that Bentley. If you bought a car for seventy eighty thousand, you would have had two hundred thousand more in the bank, and they would have been growing and growing, and then one year, three years, five years, twenty years, that two hundred thousand is gonna be worth a lot more. The question is, Charles, is that when I tell sometimes I tell young people, you can afford that car right now twenty? Will you be able to afford that car at sixty? Yeah, that's the key. There's forty of your gaping there. But see the young guys, they think like I always tell them, I say, oh, man, we know stuff we like. I ain't trying to hate on no young guy. I'm trying to because I don't want you to be on that list. What list is that eighty percent of professional athletes go broke? I don't want you on that list.
Yeah.
Well, like, Yo, this money, you're twenty, when you fifty five, how much money you're gonna have left? That's the key, especially living, Like, if you live in a lifestyle right now, don't you want to live that lifestyle for the rest of you us? I mean, I don't want to be poor. I've been poor. Hey, I noticed like to eat raccoon, possum, sardines, yin and sausages, pig.
Ears, pigtails, pig feet.
I don't want to eat that. No more truck than lists I want to. I don't want to have to eat it out of necessity. It was listen, I got to have my pig feet. I do, Yeah, I do. I got pick feets, I get them. I go to a great soul food place here called K and K. I get me some pig ears, not pig ears, picked feet. Yeah, I got to have my neck bone. See, I love some bon I love octel. That's that's the specialty. I love me some oxtails. You gotta get some yams, you gotta get some collots.
I mean.
But you know when I like, I said, I started, and I tell him, I say, man, I've been in your situation. I wasted money on cars. And then you're like, oh, man, because when you waste money on cars, you're really just trying to impress other people.
Correct, that's what you're doing.
That's like when I when I used to have nice cars, they said, what kind of rims you're gonna put on it? I said, well, you mean they're like, put some rims on it, I said, So if I put rims on it, I'm really trying to impress others because I actually can't see the rims when I'm in the car.
That's what I told him.
I said, you know, I can't see the rims when I'm in the car, so I'm really That's what Doc said. He said, so you're really trying to impress other people. You don't have to impress people. They already know who the hell you are. Is it because Charles, a lot of us come from family homes. We didn't have anything, and this is the first opportunity because we don't see the other side.
They don't. I don't.
I don't think Peyton Manny went out and bought a rolls raw. I don't think guys when they when they obviously they have knife over than they Yeah. But I'm saying because all I wanted I want When I I was like, man, I'm going When I saw Miami Advice and I saw that Ferrari, I said, I'm getting me on the head and Rolex they talked. I said, I gotta get me married. So I wanted to like that was my way of saying, I've made and herm Edward was, who's somebody I really liking tomorrow? He says, you can have one car, you don't need five. You don't need a bunch of houses. He says, I live by the one model. You need one that's good enough. And uh, like I said, in the young black kids and I'm talking to them, man, save your money.
Yes.
And another thing, you don't have to take care of all your family and friends. For some reason, black people myself included, I used to be like my financial people told me, why are you taking care of seven eight people? I'm like, well, he said, no, no, no, no, no. You don't have to take care of everybody, right because you're gonna go broke, you know, So No, I tell these young kids, yo, man, if you want to do some nice for your mom and dad, you wanna do something nice for a brother or sister, that's fine. They don't have to be on the payroll you don't like, No, you don't owe them. That was their job to take care of you. But if you want to do some nice for him, that's fine. Grant Hill, his mom rest in peace, gave me the best advice ever. I said, because we're at the Olympics. Actually here in Atlanta in ninety six and her and Cavin had came down for a couple of games. They said, Chuck, we're we're gonna be here a couple of days and we got to get back to work. And I said, grant your sign the first one hundred million dollar contract in the NBA history. She says, sit you down, Charles, I said, Miss Hill. He says, Charles, I'm gonna just give you some advice. Do not start taking care of your family and friends, because number one, they're never gonna stop, and it's gonna ruin all your relationships.
I said, what do you mean.
He says, when you start giving people money, they're never gonna ask you for money one time. Right, But he said, She said. The second thing is, no matter what you do for them, the first time you tell them no, they hate you.
And I said what?
And I had to learn it. People have been giving money to the first time I told them no, they're like no, no, no, we're not friends anymore. That was a tough and painful lesson for me. It absolutely is, because that's why you have to put limits on what you give, because they'll never put limits on.
What they take. That's exactly right. But it's like that with anything.
Charles, you and I can go out here right now, we can sign twenty five thousand autographs, but if we don't sign twenty five thousand and one and Charles Barklay told but I had to learn that too. I'll sign some autographs, but I'm like, yo, I'm done. You okay, I'm good. It don't affect me anymore because you know, like I said, somebody said earlier, everybody wants to be like, yes, because everybody here, guys, I don't care what people think about me. Yes, you do stop being you care like, especially if it's like if they don't have a reason. Now that's different, but everybody wants to be like But you can't make everybody happy, can, Like I say, after games, I would stop and sign. I had a rude I signed ten and it's twenty people. I said, guys, I gotta go get something neat. I said, I'm gonna sign ten. That's it. And they're saying some stuff when you leave. But you're like, okay, we're good. I don't feel bad. I signed ten. I did what I was supposed to do. I'm gonna keep it moving. Who you MVP this year? Well, there's five guys I think you can vote for and feel like you ain't screwing anybody. Shay Gilders because they got the best record in the West, Joker, Jalen Bronson and Edwards and Luca. I think you can because the one thing I will say that ESPN annoys me about. First of all, they make up these fake stories about m v P. The m v PS never went to the best player. Never, it goes to the best player on the best team. Because nobody in their right mind thinks Steve Nation is better than Shaq and Kobe. But they had the best record season record when he won MVP, he deserved it. Steve Nasts deserve MVP. Michael Jordan was the best player before he started winning m VPS, but until he started winning, he wasn't gonna get m VPS. Uh So I hate that argument. Like I said, if you vote for any of those guys, I was like, that's fair. Like dere Rose wanted one year over Lebron, he deserved it. The Bulls had the best record that year. Was he as good a player as Lebron? No, but they had a better record. The same thing with even KD who's a great player. He won MVP, they had the best recordect year. But it always normally goes like I said, if you vote for shay A Luca a joker. But I actually think what Bronson did this year for the Knicks was incredible. Yes, to get them to the second seed without Robinson being out most of the year, with that Rondo most of the year, Og was out for a period of time. But what Luca did, so it's this is you know, I think me and Magic had the closest vote ever. I think this is one going to be the closest one ever. Wow. Who's your favorite non NBA athlete?
That's a great question. It depends on the sport.
Like in golf right now, my favorite player is probably Max Homer because he seems like a great kid and he tries, he doesn't take himself that serious. In football, it's Aaron Donald, who just retired. In baseball, it's probably Mike Trout. In tennis, Robbie Shelton, I think that's his name, Shelton. I forget, It's just there's another golfer named Shelton. I get him confused sometimes, But I mean, I just love sports because sportsman.
I have zero idea or I would be in my life without that stupid little round ball, because it has did so much for me.
Like I said, you grew up and grew up in a town of a couple thousand people. I have been all over the world. I'm sitting here on club Shaysha, Like, if it not for that basketball, it has given me every single thing in my life. I'm so lucky and appreciative because I have. Like I was able to be ald my mother and grandmother house, I was able to send my brother's kids to college. I have been I mean, I mean, I've been all over the world because of the stupid little basketball. And I can make up something where I would be without basketball, but it probably, if I'm really it won't be damn sure won't be as good. But I don't know if it'll be pretty because I'm not gonna get up here and saying like act like I was a great student. I'd be working somewhere, you know, and you know, doing something with me. Yeah, but man, that ball. I mean, I'm pretty sure you know all the success you've had as a player in an entertainment industry, like.
It's all originated from that. Yeah, yes, And we're so lucky.
Because you know what I tell people all the time, I admire people who got a real job, but I don't want one.
No, growing up, growing up, like how we grew up, yall.
It let me know what I didn't want to do as an adult, because if it's breaking up a child, can you imagine an adult doing that for twelve and fourteen hours a day.
And no, and not even making money.
No. No.
I was like, because people say, what do you think about? Sometime during the game, I said, I said, when I get tired, I think about. Man, if you don't get some energy from somewhere, nine to five don't sound good. No, nine to five don't sound good at all. I never want to work nine to five. I mean, I said, I said, I admire people who work now, and especially like when you're seeing somebody doing I shouldn't say that doing somebody's.
Doing the job. You're like, damn working two jobs.
Yeah, but when I see somebody like when I'm when I'm in Phoenix is like one hundred and fifteen degrees and I said, are they working outside? I'm like, oh, hell no, no. Or you see somebody working in the winter and it's cold, he're like, damn right, I says, WHOA, I'm glad I handled my business. How many more years you think Lebron's gonna play? And can he continue to play? I mean, he averaged twenty five, eight and seven and you're twenty one. How many more years can he play? And how many more years can he be played at the level of which he's currently playing. I hope he retires soon because I hated the way I retired because I sucked. Nope, Jim Brown is really and he retired because he didn't want to got tired of playing football and he didn't he wanted to act. Yes, he's like because he wasn't making the money and he didn't want to just kill itself.
There's no It is badly for every jock. It is badly for every job getting in as easy as to get it out.
Yes, and your ego says you can still do it because I remember telling myself my last two years, Okay, I'm gonna get myself in great shape this summer, I'm gonna have a good year, then I'm gonna retire. Then I figured out, like playing against air, everybody's good against air. Everybody is great against air. But when you see another when that twenty five year old is looking at you like licking his lips, You're like, oh, and like there's nothing you can do, Like when you're working out during the summer and ain't nobody playing defense on you and you in great shape. And but when you see that twenty five twenty seven year old and he's looking at you like, yep, I used to watch you. I'm coming for you, and there's nothing you can do about it. But to answer your question, I hope he retires while he can still play, because man, I've been there myself. I saw Patrick ewing his last legs, saw Michael Jordan playing with the Wizards.
Yeah, Patrick, I mean, I mean Patrick and Orlando.
I was like, that's the greatest player I played against. I don't want to see him doing that with the Wizards. So uh, I don't want to see any great play when they passed that prime. How do you navigate because you were a great player, you won MVP, you went and you played when two gold medals? How do you navigate y'all when you offer a critique or criticism of a current NBA great.
And they shoot back, well, you ain't never won anything. What did you do this? And what did you do that? How do you navigate that?
Well?
You can't be able to dish it and take it.
The one thing I'm really proud of, and I hang my hat on this, I've never been personal with a player. I only stick to basketball. I only stick to basketball. I would never come in on a guy's personal life. Now, sometimes they get in trouble. I have to say something. You have to, but I have I can. I can look at a guy and say, hey man, because I get calls all the time from players and agents. I said, I'll tell you why I said that, and they're like, okay, I said, I said, this is what pissed me off too, Shannon Yo.
Man, Why y'all never called me when I said some positives? I said, wait a.
Minute, I said nine great things about you. Why do you never call me when I said some positive and I say one critique and you blow up my phone calling me names. I had to sting with Kobe Bryant one night. So it was a game where he wouldn't shoot right gets Feeni Game seven. I think grata because you guys told me we shoot too much. Well, he was trying to prove a point. Yes, I ain't got no help, so he wouldn't. He went the whole second half of shot one time and I and I answer ag him. I said, Ernest said what I said, Man, I'm so disappointed. I'm so disappointed. Kobe. He was trying to prove a point that he didn't have any help. He shot one time in the second half. And you know at that time they were compared to Michael, I said, Michael when he played against the Celtics. He's like, I got to get six or something.
I don't get it. Whatever.
He not gonna pout. Kobe starts texting me you mother, you mother. I said, yo, man, I'm doing my job, but you such a talk. We go back and forth for so about this time, it's about one in the morning. We go back and forth for like two hours. I said, yo, man, pick up the phone and call me and stop texting me.
And it was it was. It was great.
We laughed about it later. He was mad at the moment. He understand I'm just doing my job, but it was so funny. We text each other for two hours and it was just Mother told me, I'm and I'm just like, I'm not gonna get get mad at dude, that's a dude, call me pick up the phone. But it was hilarious. We laughed about it later. I'm gonna get you out of here this, Charles. This is the first time in a very long time that people that's in our position have had to comment on the discourse. Sometimes that's what's going on in America. We see the Trayvon Martin, we see the George Floyd, we see what happened in in Wisconsin, and now all of a sudden, you and I we have to comment on that. Where when you played and I played politics, religion, orientation, we talked about that might be maybe mentioned that in the locker room, without the media or without the purview of the public hearing about it. How do you navigate knowing that you came from Alabama, knowing that what goes on in America that sometimes there's racism, sometimes it's racist, how do you navigate navigate your conversation that you disseminate to the public. That's a really good question, because I'm asked that sometime with my boys. The first thing is it's exhausting being black. Yes, it's exhausting being black, Like we're trying to live our lives be successful. Then Travon Martin happened. We got to talk about it. Unfortunately, that was a really awful situation. Then we get back in our routine. Then George Floyd's happened, we got to talk about it.
You know.
You know, I was talking to Sam Jackson one time. He like, he's like, I'm trying to make a movie. They asked me like three year, like nobody got nominated for an Oscar. So as a black person, something always coming up for me personally is I said, I have to like take a step back because the one thing you can't do is yell and scream because once you yelling scream, they're like, turn it off, turn it off. And I say, guys, let's have a serious conversation. But I need you to be I need you my girl, Judge Judy. I'm a big judge Judy. She always says, you're listening, but you're not hearing me. I said, I need you to hear me. Don't listen to me, hear me. Those are two different things. Listen to understand. Yes, and I'm not hey and I'm not mad at you, but I need you to understand this is happening. And it's just exhausting being black because every time you're trying to do your thing or just live your life, something racist or sure happens. I try to do this one thing. I try to like, don't ever speak when you're mad. Don't yell and scream, because I know if I yell at you, you're gonna ignore me. You're gonna turn me off for ignore me. So for me and you and Steven and Mike wilbon Man, I need y'all to trust me because sometimes people play the race card when it's not playable, because then you become the guy who's.
Gonna cry wolf all the time.
The one thing I promised T and T when I took this job, because I told him the social stuff is really important to me.
It's really important to me.
I said, I won't beat you over the head with it all the time, because if I beat you over the head with all the time, they're gonna like, I'm not gonna watch.
Pretty soon you become desensitized. Yes, it's not gonna have the same impact.
Yeah, I said, if every time something happened, gonna talk about race or something like that. And I think I've done a good job. I says, I want to talk about this. I want to talk about this, but I think we have to be very selective.
I do.
I think we have to be very selective because man, racials have them all the time, for sure, all the time. And I want people to see, like Shannon Charles steven A, they gonna be fair and balanced.
That's it, that's all.
So that's the only thing I try to do in this situation, Like, yo, man, Chuck, ain't just trying to play race or trying to stir it up or be a victim, I says, because because the one thing you have to always say, like sometimes black people are wrong. And then I know I'm gonna be an Uncle Tom. I'm gonna be a sellout. I said, listen, man, those words don't bother me. We don't have to agree with all black people. We don't, but they think we do. Yes, they think we do. I say, Yo, man, sometimes black people are wrong and it's okay, it's okay, and it's okay to say they're wrong. But no, but if you're a black person in our position, look at that Uncle Tom, look at that cell out. I'm like, yo, man, we can be wrong. And that goes back to we talked about earlier. I always want to uplift black people. Correct always, I want like, I'm proud of your success. And I know people gonna hate on you. I know people gonna hate on me, and they're gonna be black. I said, but man, I love to see black people doing good.
I love it.
But I was like, I'm old enough and I'm around enough to know there's gonna be some hate coming towards me, especially if they disagree with Somebody say, but I want you to win, but I don't want you win more than me. I say, if you win more, if you win more than me. Now I got to question your sexuality. I got a you know how black are you? Because bro, I'm like, come on, man, I mean, I criticized white quarterbacks, but if I criticize a black quarterback, man, see, I should have known old.
Buck Nancy Channe. I know he he gonna keep, he gonna take care.
Of the man.
And number one, I've been watching for a long time. Obviously, I never seeing you.
Try to get clickbait. Ever, no, I said, O, man, I take I take this responsibility because I do know. But I'm not gonna tell black people they right all the time.
If you want that you're wrong, You're wrong.
I tell you.
I said, yo, man, no, no, no, no, we can be wrong.
But but also on the other hand, when I see something happen to the black a black player in the community, I'm gonna step in. You know. I had a you know, it was interesting. There's a couple of things happened recently that I talked of my mentors and friends about. One was OJ Simpson and one was Michael Porter Jr. And I said, I'm not sure how to handle this OJA thing. He said, what do you think? I said, Man, I don't have any respect for men who hit women, and I think he killed them two people. I says, what do you think he killed those people or not? I think he did. I said, but I have and I've always said this, and I just say this to you. I have no respect for men who hit women. And I don't want to bash the dude.
Because he got a family and he died, he got kids. And I said, you know what, I'm not even gonna mention it.
And I didn't because I said, I don't want to just bash the dude because I can't say anything positive. Was he a great job? Yes, but when you go around beating women and like that, I just cann't. I got no respect for you. And then the Michael Porter Junior thing, but the WNBA no no, Michael Porter oh oh by his brother Yeah, both brothers, broh. Yeah, one got a d UI and I think he killed somebody, right, he did. He killed somebody, and the other brother took the under on himself.
Yeah, And I feel I feel his pain. I feel his parents' pain.
Yeah.
I feel that as a job because it and this is the one thing I look at sports. It's the greatest fraternity ever. I feel like everybody the NFL, anybody, anybody Mains League Baseball and the NHL hockey. I think they're part of my family, like like they know my experiences. And so I was saying, man, I really want to wish Michael Porter Jr. Let him know that I'm thinking about him. I wish his family the best. And my friend says, yih man that lady did die, And I was like, yeah, you got a point there, like because if I said, hey, man, I wish you the best, I'm thinking about you. Because I noticed that it's got to be painful for his family with his brother and his other brother going to jail for that.
Family that lost their loved one.
Yes, And because he can go to jail and hug him, Yeah, he can go to his brother's home and hug him. Yeah, they can't go to the graveyard. And I said, Chuck shut up on both accounts. So I always think about because you know, it always makes me laugh because my friend's like, yo, man, you got these people eating out your head. I said, what you're talking about? He says, you know the reaction before you say it. I says, of course I do. I know when I'm gonna start a fire. I know it because but I had planned on thet because most of the time that goes back to the road model commercial I made.
Yes.
Yes, So when I made the commercial, I went to night cause I want to make this commercial. I said, They're like, you go to your mind. I said no.
I said, what I'm noticing is we have too many segregated schools in this country. I said. When I go to these white schools, I said, what do y'all want to do when you grow up?
They like want to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers. When I go to these black schools, they're like I want to play in the NFL. I want to play the NBA. And I was doing this when you cause you do a lot of speaking when you're planning. So I was doing this for like four or five years, and I was like, yo, man, these black kids think thinking to only be successful to you after like the entertainment. They don't never think about being doctors, lawyers and engineers and like that. So I talked Nike into doing the commercial and it became a big deal. You did still probably the thing I'm most proud of to this day. I said, cause I knew it was going to start a fire. And I was like, guys, I'm not trying to skirt responsibility, but I want young black kids to know, like, yo, man, you don't have to play in the NFL, the NBA. We got black doctors, we got black lawyers, we got black engineers. But y'all got these kids thinking like all they see is Shannon Michael, Carl Chuck, David Robinson. The only black people they see are jocks and enteritate jay z. I said, man, they got a better chance of being a doctor and the lawyer playing it. Yes, And I said, I just want to spark the debate and in fairness, and Nike and Naki came back to me later and says, man, we want to thank you for making that commercial. I said, And I said, because ninety of the letters we got were pro. I said, well, first of all, I'm not worried about the negative. Bless well, blessed. I play in Philly, I said, I thought my name was Charles Barkley, your mother the first two years of my I said, I said, guys, I'm in Philly. I'm used to criticism, but I always have used my platform for a bigger debate. I'm trying to make a difference.
You know. One of the things. I'm proud of you.
And I don't talk about this a lot, and I'm not trying to get praised because I keep it very quiet. So for the last fifteen years, I've been giving a million dollars a year away to charity and I don't even tell anybody. I just I'm sharing. It's good because I'm gona tell you why I'm proud of you. So I started out in my high school, my college Wounded Warriors als Parkinson's. But the last eight years, the point I'm getting to I did HBC US it means a great deal to me to be able to do that, and you being a product when I watch you and Steve and A when y'all go back to y'all hbc USED, I just think it's really important what y'all to do for the hpc USED And it really makes me feel good when I write that check because you know, we got a couple of them here in Atlanta. I think three of them here in Atlanta, Clark Morehouse and Spelmen. But man, I just want to use my platform to keep doing good stuff. But you know, just being a product of HPCU, how far you came, I'm really proud of your success.
Appreciate it.
And I think the thing is what that does is that you think about three of the most prominent morning voices, myself and stephen A, Michael straighthand which is HBCU. He's a Texas Southern, I'm Savannah State, stephen A's Winston Salem. So it show it goes to show you you don't have to go to Syracuse, you don't have to go to Michigan on one of the pwi's in order to do what we're doing.
Because we're living proof of that.
I think the thing also that role model for me, I was very, very fortunate because every role model I had was in my house, my brother, my grandfather, my grandmother. So I didn't look athletes didn't because I saw them every day. You see somebody jumping up and down on the basketball court and catching the football. You really don't know that person. You know what that person does. I knew what they did. I mean, you know the sport they play. I saw my brother every day, I saw my grandfather and my grandmother. So that's when I followed my brother around. So I wanted to be just like him. Yeah, And I was like, man, if I could be like him or my sister. It drove my sister crazy, y'alls because she was like, she's going to be your own man, why you want to be like him? But as I got older and I remember telling I said everything I want, everything I want to be is yeah, well what's crazy about it? And you know this, And unless you've been in pro sports, you don't know this. Man, there's so many poles.
In our sport.
Like, all you gotta do is be nice to the press and they gonna write good stuff about you.
Yeah.
In my I've been in this thing for forty years. Over forty years, some of the worst people I've ever met got the best reputations because they're great with the press. Yes, and some of the some of the people who got the worst reputation of some of the best dudes in the world. And I said, and it's all dictated. If you're nice to reporters and they got access to you, they gonna be right. Oh, he is the greatest guy. And I tell people, I said, Man, you don't know these guys at all, right, And it drives me crazy, I said, I says, if you got it always, I says, there's a reason you're going to keep everything in the locker room. You don't want to know what's going on. I said, Yo, Man, this dude got the best reputation. He's the worst person I've ever been around. Charles, How have you been able to keep.
You a husband? Father? How have you ever been? How have you been able to keep that so hush? Well?
Because I I was. It was not a good husband. And I want to be better next time I do. Uh, I have been. Uh, my daughter, it's been the best thing ever happened to me. But the next stage in my life I think I got to be better. I do need to be better. But because I didn't know, I didn't know how to be a good husband or father because you didn't have you, because your father was away, he wasn't in the home. He wasn't a good father. And I just need to be better, and I hope to be better next time. I would ask you this because this is something you know, Mike, Mike, have there's a situation. Michael's son, Marcus was I don't know if he currently still is dating Scotty's ex wife. Yeah, how would you feel if a teammate of yours dated your daughter? Would you feel some type of way? Hell yeah, hell yeah? That is a really I feel bad for Michael. I feel bad for Scotty. Yes, that is so messy. I don't like messy because when it's messy, everybody has an opinion on it. Everybody has an opinion. And you know, the internet is not a place for messy. No, And you have to understand it's a lot of kids involved, yes, and people are mean. People are mean, and it's unfortunate.
You know.
I just got into social media because I didn't want to be around the meanness. And I feel bad for everybody involved because I see all the pictures. I don't do the comment stuff, but I know they're gonna be mean, right, But it's just I just hate messy, and it's just really messy.
And there are no winners.
There's only losers because obviously Michael and Scottish relationship can't ever be the same. Did you know was it the last dance when Michael put that that because he wasn't there at the time, when Scotty refused to go in the game and he inserted that until the last dance? Did you always know that that Scotty and Michael had this kind of contingous relationship because from the outside it like it looked pretty good.
Yeah.
I was surprised it was so bad. I was surprised. But in Faraday, I spent a ton of time with those guys together. I spent a lot more time with Michael, a lot more time with Michael. Uh. You know, it's just a sad situation because I think if you not that I know, but you know, if you win a championship with guys, y'all probably have a special bond. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think if you're win six, y'all might as well. Y'all should be brothers. Brother So, like I said, you know, if you win one championship, I'm pretty sure every time y'all get together because you got the you're gonna have the reunion. Yes, every every five, five year, ten year, fifth tea, twenty three.
Yeah.
But if you win six together, y'all should be damned near blood byes. So that's the thing I most feel bad. There's guys I didn't win with something, but they're some of my best friends. Every time I see them, it's like, man, I got another brother, and like we bumping each other at all the Star Games, maybe the Hall of Fame ceremony, or we just bumping each other. It's like a family reunion. But if I had won six championship with somebody, I would think, Man, we blood brothers for life.
When people that do what.
We do take shots at you, I mean you had to the funny back and forth, you and Shak had the funny back and forth. You put Kendrick person Perkins's face on the punching back and you you punch it and you get in this shape. I mean, how do you how do you handle that? When when guys that do what we do take shots at you. Yeah, it doesn't bother me because because I guess technically we take shots at players, right, I don't probably them that I had with what Kendrick says. There's nobody in the world watch more basketball than me, I tell you, Like, and I had just come out of March Magic with pissed me off even more because I was watching two or three college basketball games a day. March Maddison really sucks because I'm watching games all day long. But to say another guys don't watch the games because he has a different opinion than you. Yeah. Yeah, And so that's the only thing bothered me. I could say, I say, there's nobody in the world watch more basketball than me. So, but I don't get mad. And the thing is really funny about it. Shack is so sensitive at times because I was gonna like let it go, and he's like.
No, no, no.
My mama told me growing up, we kill all roaches.
And I said, like, so that's how the whole roast thing came up, And so any time anything happened right now, Shaq like we kill roach and Shack is so crazy.
He made a rap this song.
Yeah, but I don't take it like I really, the only person I've taken seat I said, honestly is it's Skip Bayless.
Because man, what we do is such an honor.
I don't think you can say stuff just to say it, because my whole going back then, I says, man, there's somebody in Montana, Maine, South Dakota. If I said something bad about these guys, They're like, well, I saw it on television. It's gotta be true, right, So I'm be like, man, I'm not gonna say anything about a player, especially if it's personal. There's somebody in Montana or South Dakota gonna say, well, you know, Charles Barker said this guy was blah blah blah. So I'm never gonna use my platform for negativity. I'm gonna get you out of him this one. You once said that you've probably lost about twenty million in gambling. Have you quenched that urge to gamble or do you still like to gamble?
I love to gamble. I don't like the gamble, you know. I got. I got to the point so I would go to Vegas and I'd win a million dollars. Damn, hey me want you playing ahead? Twenty?
I played twenty five thousand and a half. Okay, yeah, a couple of quick double dollars you can get them, yea, and quick double doll you can get get it up out of your pockets. There's probably been seven times I want a million dollars. Okay, there's probably been twenty five times I've lost a million.
Right.
Uh So what happened was I quit gambling for two years and I always take the same group of guys from men. I said, Man, I miss gambling. They're like, why don't you start gambling again? I said, well, man, I was getting out of hand. They're like, yo, man, you're gambling. Ain't getting out of hand. You're just an idiot, right. And the one thing I pride myself on around my friends, they can always be honest with me. I said, why do you say I'm an idiot? They're like, yo, man, we'll be sitting there. You'll be up three four hundred thousand dollars. We're like, Chuck, let's go. You're good for tonight, right, And in my head I'm saying, no, we're not leaving this month. I wear a million dollars, right, And they said, dude, there's times you've been up six seven hundred thousand dollars and you won't quit because gamble's really just peaks in Vallas.
It is.
It's just peaks in Vallas. It's a stock market, Yes, that's all it is. And they're like, dude, why can't you win three hundred thousand dollars? And say, man, we had a great weekend. Why you gotta win a million? And I said what He says, why can't you lose three hundred and say we still had a great weekend? And I says, are you serious right now? He says, Man, you know I ain't gonna lie to you. Let's win a couple hundred thousand, have a great weekend, go home or lose two or three hundred. You ain't got to win a million, or you ain't got to chase it and lose a million. And so the answer your question, I said, Yo, man, we're going to Vegas for the weekend. We're gonna lose a couple hundred thousand, or we're gonna win a couple hundred thousand. You know what we're gonna do. We're gonna play golf every day and get drunk every night. And I had to change my mentality because you can never break the casino. No, no, no, they can break here. Yes, And my friends just set me down and says, yo, man, let's just go have fun for the weekend. Let's win some money or lose a little lose a little bit. But yeah, but that's what really happened. When I would lose a million, I was so depressed. Not that the money just yeah that's bush. Yeah, because of the money, but the losing. But but the winning never feels as good as the losing hurt. Yes, you you were so excited when you got all that money laying in front of you, but.
You're like the press for a week, You're like, damn, I lost.
I lost a million dollars. And then you have to send the bill till you financial people and they yell at you and you they're yelling and yelling and yelling, and then I says, hey, y'all better quit yell at me. I'm a fire y'all. And then they're like, okay, we'll pay it. But that's what really happened. I was getting out of hand because, like you just had, your point was so good. No matter how good it feels winning, when you lose, it just sucks. You're really doing this epic. No, I'm doing my genre. I've lost so channel and I got new hips. So you got both of them replaced? Yes, I got both of my Yeah, the best thing ever, like night and day. I hate that I waited so long.
Me too. So I played at two fifty. I got up to two three, three fifty five. Yeah, good, three fifty five.
Yeah.
I was good.
Good eating too, brother, good eating. So I got up to three fifty five and I was with one of my friends. He had lost a lot of weight, and he said, I said, well, how you lose all that weight? He said, yeah, man, I want you to go see my doctor if you're trying to lose weight. And I started doing on jar Ro and I got I went from three fifty five to to eighty five. Wow, and I'm gonna get to to seventy. Uh, just take a shot. It's unbelievable. And obviously I can't stay on it my whole life. But when I get to to seventy, you can work, Then I can work. But like I said, when I got them health, man, I gain a hundred and five pounds. Yeah, I was up to three fifty five, and now I'm too eighty five, and I want to get to to seventy because my doctor like, you get two seventy, you're gonna be all right. You know, if you three hundred three twenty, like you got to worry about diabetes, stroke, hypertension and things like that, ain't a whole lot of suff.
No, no, he told me. She told me.
My name is she sa a She She ain't no fat old people. Yeah, ain't no fat old people. So I want to get my weight down because you know, you know, it's interesting and difficult. And man, I'm sixty one. It's weird getting older, and I'm glad to get old, right, But yeah, but I want to be healthy. Back to playing golfare all the time. Now I'm back to working out. But that's the main thing. Man, I want to be here.
Jarles Markley, thank you, Thank you man.
So honor all my life, running all my life, second fights, hustle, page the price, right, wanta slice? Got to brow the dice, the squad all my life. I've been grinding all my life, all my life, grinding all my life, sacrifice, Mussell, play the price, want a slice?
Got to brow the dice, the squad.
All my life.
I've been grinding all my life.
Mm hmm.