TSN Archives: Angola’s best Charles Barkley quotes from Dennis Rodman and everything in between

This article originally appeared in the December 20, 1999 issue of The Sporting News.

Rare numbers: 20,000 points, 12,000 rebounds, 4,000 assists. An exclusive club with only Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Charles Barkley. The astonishment is that Barkley did it under the clouds. Officially listed at 6-6 but in reality 6-4 with an iron body and will, he worked with such ferocity and strength that Celtics center Robert Parish once said, “When Charles s pushing down on you is like being run over by a trash compactor. “

Did another superstar kiss his teammates who pulled off winning shots? Shooting free throws with your eyes closed? Play the second banana with furty mascots? Barkley, whose NBA career ended last week with a serious knee injury, was the Muhammad Ali of his game. He loved to be who he was. “I will not kill myself,” he said when asked about the danger of carrying a gun. “I am one of my favorite people.”

Ours too. When not throwing a belligerent through a window or spitting at a fan, he was uttering enough insults, ideas and nonsense to make a hack from sports writers to the typewriter laugh. , where it was almost impossible to decide whether the quotes arose out of ignorance, genius, or both.

Here you decide …

20. “I heard Tonya Harding called herself the Charles Barkley of figure skating. I was going to sue her for libel, but I realized I had no character.”

19. “The ability to run and dunk or hit 40 home runs or run 1,000 yards doesn’t make you Almighty God. And second, (kids) shouldn’t admire someone they don’t. can’t be. They can’t score and bounce like me. They can’t run and jump like Michael Jordan. They can’t pass the ball like Earvin Johnson. There’s a guy or two over there, the 99% the rest must find a job, must get an education, they should admire their parents.

18. “Ex-teams are like ex-women. Deep down, deep down, you know you can’t stand them.”

17. “You can be as successful as you want, but you have to surpass yourself, and the only way to do that is through education. You can’t blame your mom, you can’t blame your dad, you can “To blame white people you have to take control of your own life and be successful. “

16. Before the Dream Team match against Angola at the 1992 Olympics: “All I know about Angola is that Angola are in trouble.”

15. “It’s really wrong for blacks to be racist, because two wrongs don’t do one good. Whites don’t know better, that’s how they were taught, but blacks know what that it does. “

14. Nudging an Angolan: “Well, maybe he shot a spear at me.”

13. “We (the athletes) are held to such a high standard, and we should be. But come on, don’t go crazy. Don’t make us Public Enemy # 1 because we’re doing a thing of the past. bad. Athletes do 99% good things and 1% bad things, and people never let you forget that 1%. “

12. On Chris Mullin, who had passed out: “If it’s your brain, you’ll be fine. It’s the smallest organ in your body.”

11. “Unless you’re a doctor, there’s nothing important they can’t wait to call you later. How many 19 or 20 year olds have had something really important? in the middle of meetings just before the game. “

10. There are people hiding everything inside – and it’s guys like that killing entire families. “

9. “Any moron can score.”

8. “Me and Rick (Mahom) aren’t the only players hitting guys with the elbows or knocking them down hard. But the NBA really cares about its image. They make who they want to be good, they make who they they do. want to be bad. But I’m not going to be Joe Bob, the All-American model who tells people what they want to hear. You can talk and say nothing, and I never want to be seen as that type of person. “

MORE: Barkley tops list of best players to never win NBA title

7. On the tutoring of Moses Malone: ​​“He taught me the tricks of the trade to be good. He was like, “Hey, if you want to be the Man, you have to be the Man. to feel like you’re going to score. Almost every game goes to the last quarter, and it’s the one with the most guts. “

6. About the oversized Oliver Miller: “You can’t even jump high enough to touch the rim. unless they put a Big Mac on it. »S will yield

5. Two years ago: “The NBA makes everybody a star because they just want to make money. You got guys who can’t even play who have jerseys and shoes and everything. “

4. On a 1990 brawl against Pistons hitman Bill Laimbeer: “I don’t know why he wants to challenge my heavyweight title. He’s not even in the top 10 contenders.”

3. “Dennis (Rodman) likes to wear a dress, I don’t like to wear a dress. I’ve tried it on a few times around the house, but I do it in private: I don’t do it in public.”

2. “I like spicy things, to start the discussions. Whether we’re talking about role models or racism, rookies or Rodman. I was chosen for some reason to live this life, and so all I do. doing is making a lot of money and never speaking for anyone or for myself that would be a waste. i said and did things wrong but i can honestly say i did more good or bad. Will I go to heaven? vote. “

1. Retired: “In four years, I will be Alabama’s first black governor. In eight years, I will be the first black president.