Charles Barkley was a force to be reckoned with on the court and his leadership skills were second to none. His exceptional 1993 season in particular was a testament to his talent and his ability to lead a team to success. Barkley received the Most Valuable Player award in 1993 as a commendation for his outstanding performance throughout the season. He led the Phoenix Suns to their highest record in the league and was instrumental in their success.
Recently, Barkley spoke about his coveted award. Despite being relatively undersized for a basketballer, Barkley was a dominant force, especially in the paint, and his ability to score, rebound and make plays for his teammates has seldom been paralleled.
Charles Barkley talks about his only MVP
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Recently on the Dan Patrick Show, Charles Barkley revealed where his MVP award is.
He said, “It’s actually the only award that I got, to be honest with you, because you know I’m selling all my memorabilia to…underprivileged houses in my hometown. I was supposed to do it before the pandemic because…stuff like that don’t matter to me. But my daughter, I asked her what she wanted. She asked for one of – she said, ‘I’ll take one of the gold medals and the rest of this crap I’m gonna sell for underprivileged houses in my hometown.’ Dude, that stuff is just clutter to me, Dan.”
He added, “Everybody know I won MVP, everybody know I won gold medals…Dude, let me tell you something. I’m 60 years old, Dan. If people come to the house and I say, ‘Hey, let’s go look at my MVP trophy and look at my gold medal,’ all right, I’m the biggest damn loser in the world.”
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Barkley has several other achievements
Barkley’s impact on the Suns was undeniable. His 5.5 assists per game were the best among all power forwards and centers in the league. He also finished 5th in scoring, 6th in rebounds and 3rd in steals per game among all big men. His efficiency on the court was also impressive as he shot 52% from the field.
However, Barkley’s individual success was not enough to lead the Suns to an NBA championship. The team fell to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. Nonetheless, Barkley’s individual accomplishments throughout the season cannot be overlooked. It is especially notable how he chose to give away his awards after that to adorn less privileged homes rather than basking unnecessarily in his titles.
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Watch this story: Just Days After Charles Barkley’s Demand, Michael Jordan Gets Asked For Another Public Apology By His Harshest Rival
In addition to his MVP award in 1993, Barkley was an 11-time NBA All-Star, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a five-time member of the All-NBA First Team. He also won the NBA rebounding title in 1988 and was named the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1991.