While a bit chunky and a little short for a basketball player, Charles Barkley overcame his physical setbacks and became one of the greatest players in NBA history.

Hailing from Leeds, Alabama, Barkley didn't exactly have the prototypical build of a basketball player. He was relatively short at a mere 6'4"(practically a dwarf by power forward standards!), and had a build more suitable to a football player. However, Barkley had an uncanny explosiveness that had been honed in his youth by jumping back and forth over fences. He went onto Auburn College and made quite a name for himself as he still holds several of the school's statistical records.

Chuck was drafted with the fifth overall pick in 1984 by the Philadelphia 76ers. Along with Julius Erving and Moses Malone, Barkley reached the Eastern Conference Finals in his first NBA season, only to fall to the Boston Celtics.

During his next seven years in Philadelphia, Barkley developed into one of the most dominating talents in the NBA. He became the shortest player ever to lead the NBA in rebounds in 1987 and cracked the All-NBA first team in 1988.

Barkley was the NBA's bad boy long before Dennis Rodman's crossdressing misadventures earned him that title. Charles provided an endless supply of quotes and was known to kick some serious ass, just ask Bill Lambeer. Some of Barkley's more prominent early exploits included dating Madonna and accidentally spitting on a little girl (whom he repaid by supplying 76ers season tickets).

Charles eventually grew tired of the Philly life, as Dr. J and Moses retired and he saw that the team wasn't going to compete for championships any time soon. He was traded to Phoenix in 1992 and went on to win MVP honors and lift the Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals where they'd lose to the Chicago Bulls in six games.

During the next two years, the Suns continued to be contenders but they choked away two series leads to our heroes, the eventual world champion Houston Rockets. Phoenix would finish at only .500 in 1995-96 and it was clear to Chuck that he had to move on if he still wanted a ring. He was traded to the Houston Rockets.

In Houston, Barkley teamed up with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler forming the "Big Three." All three had just been named among the fifty greatest players in NBA history and all three had been Dream Teamers in either 1992(Drexler), 1996(Olajuwon), or both(Barkley).

The Rockets took charge early. At one point, they had a 21-2 record and could boast a better record than the defending world champion Chicago Bulls whom they would later defeat in January. At the halfway mark of the season, the Rockets had the best record in the Western Conference and sent the Big Three along with Rudy Tomjanovich to the All-Star Game.

Unfortunately, injuries hit the Rockets and they subsequently slumped for awhile in the second half. Everyone got back healthy for the playoffs however, as the Rockets swept the Timberwolves and finally beat long-time nemesis Seattle. Bad calls and lackadaisical play provided the Rockets a six game defeat to the Utah Jazz as John Stockton buried the series-winning shot in the Chuckster's face. Bummer.

The beginning of the 1997-98 season was a rough one for Charles. In an Orlando bar, a guy threw a glass of ice at him while he was entertaining some ladyfriends. So Charles politely repaid the idiot by throwing him out of a window. Chuckles went to jail and Clyde posted his bail. After a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Charles called Dream a baby and quickly got put back in his place. Unfortunately for the Rockets, Olajuwon went down with an injury for several months. The Rockets finished a dismal 41-41 and were stuck in the eigth seed in the playoffs- matched up with the team that cheated them the year before, the Utah Jazz.

With the Big 3 healthy, the Rockets came out guns blazing in game one. Nobody outside of Houston believed they had a chance, yet they spanked Utah in their own building. Utah won game two setting up an awesome game three at Compaq Center.

Game three was certainly a thriller. The Rockets held the lead for most of the night until Utah made a last ditch run late in the forth. But the Rockets would not go down. They took back the lead, won the game, and had the Compaq Center rockin'. The team that everyone outside of H-Town pegged as a loser was in a position to off the number one seed. Barkley likened the scenario to that of a rabbit taking a gun from a hunter.

In game four, the Rockets again came out strong and surmassed another incredible lead. The Utah Jazz were beat. No hope could be seen in the eyes of the Jazzholes. They were down in the game, down two games to one, and on the road. They were finished. Until one of the worst tragedies in Rockets history occured.

Charles Barkley had to leave the game early in the second quarter due to an injury. He was officially done for the season. Without Charles' intensity and rebounding, the Rockets lost game four, and eventually game five in Utah, where Clyde had to retire.

After the 1998 lockout finally ended, the Rockets season began on a much brighter note than their previous one had ended. Scottie Pippen was traded to Houston and the Big Three was reborn. However, Pippen wasn't all that was expected and the Rockets only fattened their record beating bad teams and lost to almost every solid competitor. They had slipped in ranking and lost home court advantage. They were matched up against the Los Angeles Faker$ in the first round of the playoffs.

Game one was a close one and the underdog Rockets even had the lead with only a few minutes to go. But $cottie Pippen fumbled the ball off of his foot and the Faker$ fastbreaked for an easy two. LA went on to win the game and Pippen blamed the loss on Barkley f all people. The Rockets again went down in game two and everyone had them pinned to be swept in game three... Everyone, except Charles.

Charles had been posting monstrous numbers in the series and game three was perhaps one of the greatest performances in his career. He scored 30 points, collected 20 rebounds, hooked Pippen up with just about every single one of his baskets, and even spent a lot of time guarding Shaq---SUCCESSFULLY!!! The Rockets won in a blowout, but came back to loose game four despite Charles' heroic efforts.

In the offseason came a backstabbing of Brutus-Caesar proportions. After Scottie bitched all year about the Rockets offense, Rudy made a blockbuster trade for point guard Steve Francis. The trade effectively gave Houston a Big Four and a superstar to build around when Olajuwon retired. But Pippen apparently wasn't happy enough. Phil Jackson was hired as the Faker$ head coach, and Pippen wanted to go back to him. So he wasted no time insulting Charles,and the Rudy wasted no time trading him, and punking him in the process. Pippen didn't get to La La Land, but instead got sent to Portland for Walt Williams, Kelvin Cato, Carlos Rogers, and scrubs.

The Rockets started the 1999-2000 season relatively quietly. They had not only a new team, but effectively two teams. One led by veterans Barkley and Olajuwon that centered on a low post offense, and another led by youngsters Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Shandon Anderson that focused on a running game. Olajuwon once again went down to injury, but this time the Rockets didn't falter. After kicking Shaquile O'Neal's ass at Compaq Center, Barkley led the team to a mini win streak and all was going well as he prepared to play his last game in Philadelphia, the team he started out with in the NBA.

That night, Barkley went down for the last time with an injury. It was announced he would miss the restof the season that would have been his last. Barkley announced his retirement. That Friday he was honored with a retirement ceremony by the Boston Celtics at the Fleet Center.

Barkley then went to work rehabbing his knee and doing little spots for TNT every now and then. Charles set it in his mind that he would return to the court, however, and announced he would play in the last game of the season. He was ready to play by the second to last game. the game was in Phoenix and the Suns were in a playoff race with San Antonio so it was decided that Barkley not play so as not to look like interfering in the standings(yeah, the NBA only lets teams get screwed in the playoffs). So Barkley did play one last game. It was at Compaq Center against the Vancouver Grizzlies. Although the Rockets lost, everyone was there to say farewell to Charles. Barkley got one last rebound and went up for one last put back. His basketball career officially ended.

Charles can currently be seen as a commentator for Turner Sports, where he continues to make his fans smile. He plans to run for governor in his home state of Alabama someday.

While Charles never won an NBA title, he will always be a champion to his fans. While he claims to not be a role model, Charles has been an outstanding citizen and serves to be the greatest role model for anyone who has ever been told that they were too short, too fat, or too slow: he wasn't supposed to last long in the NBA, but his career lasted sixteen seasons and he became arguably the greatest player inch for inch that the game ever saw. Congratulations, Chuck. We'll miss ya.

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