Charles Barkley’s time with Philadelphia 76ers: The story behind his statue

The story behind Charles Barkley’s new statue outside the Philadelphia 76ers’ practice facility in Camden.

Last month, Charles Barkley got a statue of himself on the Legends Walk trail, situated outside the Philadelphia 76ers‘ practice facility. Barkley was one of the best forwards to ever play for the team. He averaged 23. 3 points and 11.6 rebounds over the course of his eight-year career in Philadelphia.

It is worth noticing that Barkley came from the same draft class as Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan, who both affected the outcome of Barkley’s career. He spent his career with the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets. He won an MVP with the Suns in the 1992-1993 season, one finals appearance the same year,  made the All-NBA team 11 times and was inducted into the hall of fame in 2006.

Now, let’s look at how everything started and his time in Philadelphia and why he got that statue.

Brought Auburn its first NCAA ticket and NBA Draft

Charles Barkley was already showing signs of greatness before his NBA career started. Barkley played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers as a center, not his natural position at power forward. Barkley displayed his strengths when he led the SEC in rebounds for three consecutive years. Just like in the NBA, Barkley was smaller than the average center/power forward.

In his final season at Auburn, Barkley managed to get SEC season MVP, and got Auburn its first NCAA Tournament appearance ever. After a first-round exit, and a historic season from Barkley. He decided to make himself eligible for the 1984 NBA Draft. This would be the end of his historic career at Auburn, and a beginning to make his mark on an NBA team.

Barkley was joining an already star-heavy team with Julius Erving, , Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks and most importantly, Moses Malone.