The Sixer Sense
Fansided

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

By Alexandro Fidanza

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jon Soohoo/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jon Soohoo/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Michael Jordan came knocking

Barkley was a force once again for the Sixers, averaging a 25.2/11.5/3.9 stat line for the 1989-90 season. This time around the team would make a playoff push, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. This was the first series win in four years and the first one without Malone.

They then met the Chicago Bulls in the second round and met the man who denied Barkley from ever winning it all. Both from the 1984 draft, one was born in Leeds, Alabama, and the other was from another planet. As good as Barkley was, he was no match for the No. 3 overall pick, Michael Jordan.

Jordan and the Bulls beat the Sixers with ease, winning the series 4-1. Barkley did average 23.3 points and an outstanding 17 rebounds throughout the series. But that pales in comparison to Jordan’s 43/6.8/6.3 stat line, who completely dominated the series. Jordan started knocking on Barkley’s career early, and this was the first of three times.

As always Barkley continued his regular season brilliance in the 1990-91 season,  posting a similar stat line to his previous seasons. The question was now if Barkley was good enough to take that next step in the playoffs after repeated playoff failures.

For a second time, the Sixers got into the playoffs and won the first round. This time they beat the Bucks 3-0, with Barkley averaging 23.7/11/7. The second round, however, it so happens that they met the unstoppable Jordan once again… The Bulls managed to beat the Sixers in the same fashion as the previous year, in a gentlemen’s sweep. Jordan had the upper hand again against Barkley, posting a 33.4/8/7.8 stat line compared to Barkley’s 25.6/10.2/5.4 stat line.

Two aspect’s of the game that Michael Jordan completely dominated Charles Barkley was defense and scoring. Charles Barkley was considered an average defender at best, whereas Jordan already had won Defensive Player of the Year and was always a lock for first team All-Defense.

Jordan’s scoring was on another level as well, as he could pretty much score from everywhere and had already won three scoring titles at that point. Barkley’s grit and ferocity was just never enough to overcome Jordan. This would mark his final playoff series as a Sixer, and it was the beginning of the end for Barkley as a Sixer.