puis dans la liste qui s’affiche, cliquez sur AdBlock
Par Guillaume Kagni | Journaliste sportif
If Charles Barkley is so beloved in the NBA world, it’s because he’s one of the most authentic and funny consultants around. And he’s been developing his sense of humor for decades, as evidenced by this hilarious anecdote from a former rival. He almost got kicked out of the league because of MVP 93.
For the younger generation, Charles Barkley is first and foremost a star commentator in the NBA microcosm, a man who can create a viral sequence with a single joke. While he can also deliver some good analysis, it’s not really in this area that he excels, as he doesn’t have the time to watch every team on a daily basis.
In fact, you could almost forget that he’s one of the most dominant players in history. At just 1.98m, he still averaged 11.7 rebounds in his career, at a time when you had to elbow your way into the paint to earn respect. He also used his physicality on the offensive end to set up easy baskets and win himself an MVP award in 1993.
Charles Barkley’s humor displayed by Mark Jackson
And like many players of the time, every big Barkley performance was accompanied by a healthy dose of trash-talking. Mark Jackson knows this better than anyone, as he was nearly kicked out of the league because of his verbal jousting with the Sixers star. He spoke out on his podcast, highlighting Chuck’s humor.
In my second year, I played Charles Barkley. I’m not a great scorer, but it was a good day for me. At the end of the game, it was a duel between him and me, we were talking to each other. At the end of the game, all the journalists were running up to me, which never happened. “Charles Barkley has just said that you bet on this match.” Excuse me?! The next day, it was front-page news in New York. I got a message from David Stern telling me to come to his office immediately.
In fact, we were betting during the game, on the basis of “I bet I can dribble past your teammate and score”. David Stern explained to us that betting was forbidden in the NBA, that it was intolerable and that he wanted to expel us from the league. I had to explain to him that I didn’t yet have enough money to make a real bet. When Stern left to consider his decision, Barkley turned to me and said, “I bet he’s not going to fire us.”
Charles Barkley has always been hilarious, even as a player. When young Mark Jackson feared for the future of his career due to an alleged betting affair, the then Sixers player found the right words to lighten the mood. And he had hit the nail on the head: David Stern had obviously not fired one of his best players.
