Years Before Being Forced To Stop Splurging Son’s Money, Charles Barkley’s Mother Grew Stringent Over His Valuables

Be it his hard-hitting game or his blunt takes, Charles Barkley has captivated the NBA world for many decades. Hailing from Leeds, Alabama, Barkley rose from modest beginnings to become one of the game’s greatest players ever, a stunning feat that is a recognition of both his incredible talent and persistent resolve. Barkley’s mother played a huge role in his development and taught him valuable life lessons. Although she had to be stopped from extravagantly spending her son’s money after he made it big, she was once very strict about the 1993 NBA MVP’s belongings.

Barkley began as an undersized forward but beat the odds and had a Hall of Fame career before gliding into a fantastic two-decade broadcasting career. It should go without saying that this iconic Phoenix Suns player has traveled a great distance since growing up in Leeds.

Charles Barkley’s mother used to be possessive about his belongings

The book ‘I May Be Wrong But I Doubt It’ delves into Charles Barkley’s life. Written by Michael Wilbon and Chuck himself, the book was published in 2002. In his book, the 11x NBA All-Star wrote that he vividly remembered that he was the first kid in his neighborhood to own a pair of Chuck Taylors. For the NBA, the players would receive a new pair of basketball shoes for every game. However, things were not the same for Chuck in his high school years.

He wrote in his book, “When I was fifteen, sixteen years old and playing basketball in high school, I would get one new pair of shoes every season. My mother would bring the shoes to the game, and after the game was over she came and waited at the locker room door, and I handed her the shoes and she took them back home. That’s the way it went all year, too, because that one pair of basketball shoes had to last the whole season. “

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He continually reminds himself of that period of his life. The Philadelphia 76ers’ legend wrote, “Wow!” All I can say is “Wow!” That’s why I said I can’t imagine my life turning out any better than it has.” Nonetheless, Charles Barkley’s mother started splurging her son’s money after he became a star in the NBA.

Charles Barkley had to confront his mother about her spending habits

On an episode of

The Steam Room podcast that aired last month, Barkley revealed a lesser-known fact about his mother. He said that she and Shaquille O’Neal‘s mother used to be quite close. In fact, they were best friends. He also revealed how her mother was?draining Chuck’s pocket.

The best friends used to take around four or five vacations a year. This would make Chuck angry at his mother. Barkley finally confronted his mother. He said,

” I would get the bill(from the vacations) and I’d be like ‘Mom I don’t make the type of money Shaq did. You can’t just be going on vacation spinning out of control.'” However, she felt that she had to pay her part. Chuck had to force her to stop splurging his money.

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