Charles Barkley's Biggest Barks and Bites
Happy birthday, Sir Charles!
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Happy Birthday, Sir Charles! - As entertaining as it was to watch Charles Barkley during his Hall of Fame career from 1984 through 2000, the "Round Mound of Rebound" has given us plenty of unforgettable moments following his career as an analyst for TNT. With Saturday being Barkley's 53rd birthday, BET.com looks back at some of Sir Charles's biggest barks and (sound)bites to match. The man is truly a 1-of-1. By Mark Lelinwalla(Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for American Express)
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Charles Barkley vs. Godzilla - Who was the one NBA All-Star capable of taking down Godzilla back in the day? An oversize Chuck, of course. And all he needed to get the job done was a basketball. Classic moment from a classic Nike ad back in 1992. (Photo: Nike)
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Charles Barkley Is Not a Role Model - Long before Charles Barkley declared "I am Not a Role Model" in an infamous 1993 Nike ad, he had publicly said that athletes shouldn't be kids' role models, but their parents should. That's what made the ad so special, because Barkley really believed what he was saying. (Photo: Nike)
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Barkley Brawls With Shaq - With the 1999-2000 NBA season marking Charles Barkley's final year in the league, the then-Houston Rockets power forward gave hoop fans a lasting memory, fighting with Shaquille O'Neal in a regular-season game. The scrap sparked when Shaq partially blocked a Barkley layup attempt and Sir Charles pegged the ball off O'Neal's head, causing Diesel to erupt and push Chuck as the two stars tumbled to the ground. The two brawlers had to be separated. Even after all these years, this clip still entertains. (Photo: AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
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Barkley vs. Shaq MMA Style - With Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal becoming teammates years later as part of the NBA on TNT broadcast team, the two hoop legends would tussle again. This time it was over Barkley swearing he could use his newly learned mixed martial arts (MMA) techniques to take Shaq down. Well... easier said than done, Chuck. Shaq had no problem dumping Barkley on his backside and getting a pin live on NBA on TNT.(Photo from left: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images, Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)
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That Time When Chuck Threw a Fan Through a Window - Yes, Charles Barkley usually evokes laughter and a lot of it these days, but don't get it twisted — Chuck was a straight up menace on and off the court back in the day. In 1997, Barkley made national headlines for throwing a heckling fan through a window at an Orlando bar. His unapologetic response afterward took Barkley's no-chill meter to another level. "What [police and witnesses] said happened, happened," Barkley told the Florida Sun Sentinel at the time. "What he did was inappropriate. I'm going to defend myself. Let there be no debate. If you bother me, I'm going to whip your ass. The guy threw ice in my face and I slammed his ass into the window. I'm not denying that. I defended myself. He got what he deserved." Oh, man!(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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Infamous Arrest - One thing Charles Barkley has always been synonymous with over the course of his career and especially as an analyst is his brutal honesty. Well, it didn't get any realer than his response to a police officer during a 2008 DUI arrest. "'I was gonna drive around the corner and get a b*** j**," the cop said Barkley told him, as reported by Deadspin. Unbelievable!(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Charles Barkley Pulls an Anchorman on the Teleprompter - If you see the movie Anchorman, you know that Will Ferrell's character would read anything off a teleprompter. Well, Chuck's co-worker on NBA on TNT, Ernie Johnson, rigged the teleprompter to trick Sir Charles and the Hall of Famer took the bait, hilariously reading, "I'm a dumb ass," instantly realizing he got caught. (Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for American Express)
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Calling a Producer Out on the Air - When the name of an NBA on TNT producer came up live on the air, Charles Barkley coughed into his hand and not-so-subtlety said, "p****." That prompted Reggie Miller to say, "What is wrong with you?" Ha!(Photo: Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
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Telling LeBron to Come Home - It wasn't too long ago that Charles Barkley begged LeBron James to "come on home" live on a NBA on TNT broadcast, referring to King James's receding hairline. Sir Charles proceeded to tell Bron that by the end of the season, his headband is going to inch all the way up to the middle of his head to cover up what's left up top. No chill at all. (Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank, Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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Charles Kisses NBA Ref Dick Bavetta - As part of the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend festivities, an out-of-shape Charles Barkley had a race with elderly NBA ref Dick Bavetta. Sir Charles won rather easily, but what happened afterward continues to be brought up today, as for some inexplicable reason, Chuck and the ref kissed each other on the mouth. The image still pops up on Internet memes every now and then, only adding to the hilarity of that race. Ever the entertainer, Sir Charles. (Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)