Charles Barkley

The NBA’s Sisyphus, a warrior memorably remembered for fighting stubbornly against impossible odds, who stands as the third greatest player of all time without an NBA championship and made the NBA Finals just once, as the leading scorer and rebounder on the ’92-’93 Suns

charles barkley index

Click here for index

Associated topics

phoenix suns

philadelphia 76ers

dream team

awards and honors

michael jordan

feuds and fights

names and nicknames

trades and free agency

houston rockets

entertainment and media

FEATURED charles barkley articles

Strictly commercials: 19 memorable television advertisements starring NBA players

One the eve of another Super Bowl, we take a look back at 19 classic, disastrous, and otherwise memorable national television commercials which featured NBA superstars.

February 1, 2024October 23, 2025

Basket-brawl: 26 memorable on-court fights in NBA games

For better or worse, we don’t really see big fights on the court anymore in the NBA. But in the past, they’ve been just as threaded into the fabric of…

June 1, 2021October 23, 2025

FULL charles barkley archive

Separated laundry: 18 NBA players with a jersey retired by multiple franchises

It’s honor enough to have your jersey retired by an NBA franchise but how about two? Or even three? These 18 players have their number hanging in the rafter of multiple arenas.

January 21, 2026January 21, 2026

Primetime players: 14 notable NBA crossovers with Saturday Night Live

As Saturday Night Live celebrates its 50th anniversary, we take a look back at 16 instances where the NBA was represented on the sketch comedy show in some form.

June 21, 2025January 15, 2026

Soles power: 16 notable signature basketball shoes

Many a Christmas tree featured one of these pairs of shoes under it over the years, after the 16 superstars listed below blessed the line with their donning of them and/or their name.

December 21, 2024October 23, 2025

You’re the best around: 80 greatest NBA players of the 1980s

We conclude our Totally ’80s series by ranking the 80 greatest players of the decade, based solely on statistics, accolades, and awards compiled between the ’80-’81 and ’88-’89 seasons.

July 21, 2024October 23, 2025

Avengers disassembled: 10 NBA “super teams” that fell short of expectations

Three or more superstars teaming up together as a “super team” has produced some of the greatest results in NBA history, but there have been some spectacular failures as well, especially in the last few years.

October 11, 2023October 23, 2025

Can’t blame me: 15 greatest individual NBA Finals performances in a losing effort

The NBA Finals is where legends are truly made and the 15 performances below are no exception. However, in these cases, the mythologizing was earned in a losing effort.

June 1, 2023October 24, 2025

Better luck next time, kid: 19 greatest rookie performances that didn’t earn Rookie of the Year

Winning the Rookie of the Year award has kick started numerous legendary NBA careers but for these 19 players, their astonishing first year performance wasn’t enough to take home hardware.

April 11, 2023October 30, 2025

Digital dunks: 18 great, influential, outrageous, or otherwise notable basketball video games

From the early days of Atari and arcades to the modern next generation consoles, basketball titles have been a constant on the video game market. Here are 18 basketball games that are notable for their influence, their greatness, or their uniqueness.

December 21, 2022October 23, 2025

Dream interpretations: Debunking 19 myths about the 1992 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team

It’s the 30th anniversary of their triumphant gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and the Dream Team continues to fascinate basketball fans of all ages. This includes plenty of enduring conspiracies, mistruths, and half-truths, 19 of which are debunked here.

July 21, 2022October 24, 2025

Lowered from the rafters: Seven retired NBA jerseys that were later “un-retired”

195 jerseys have been retired by an NBA franchise, ostensibly to take that number out of rotation for the rest of the team’s history. But in these seven cases, the jersey was subsequently “un-retired” for various reasons.

May 11, 2022October 23, 2025

Noms de plume: 75 greatest NBA and ABA player nicknames

From the iconic to the cool to the slightly derisive, we count down the 75 greatest player nicknames in NBA history.

November 1, 2021October 23, 2025

Gold standards: Ranking the 18 U.S. men’s Olympic basketball teams

From the original “dream team” that brought home gold from Berlin in 1936 (with James Naismith watching) to the legendary 1992 edition to the latest American champions in 2016, we rank the 18 U.S. men’s basketball teams based on both their performance at the Olympics and their roster as a whole.

July 21, 2021October 23, 2025

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.