From the NBA court to the broadcast studio, Charles Barkley has maintained his brutal honesty. One of his most blunt moments during his playing career came when he was still with the Philadelphia 76ers. The relationship between ‘The Round Mound of Rebound‘ and the franchise had soured towards the end of the contract. It led to the team trading their star player, which caused a lot of mixed feelings among fans. However, the series of events leading up to the trade, including Barkley’s arrest, led to him feeling like the 76ers had “ruined” his career.

Charles Barkley began his NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984. What started as a glorious run ended on a bitter note, though. During an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, the 11x All-Star gloated about almost blindsiding the team. It never went that way because of a twist of fate.

Charles Barkley was arrested before the trade

As the story goes, the pressure of carrying the franchise fell on young Barkley’s shoulders. The 1992 season wasn’t going great for the team. It led to tensions between Chuck and the Sixers management. Eventually, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns mere days before he was due to leave for the Olympics as part of the Dream Team. However, Barkley was prepared to leave before all that as well.

It’s not uncommon for NBA pros to demand a trade when they can no longer continue with the team’s course. While the Sixers beat him to the punch, Barkley told Bill Simmons he almost did so in a dramatic fashion.

It happened mid-season while he was in Milwaukee. The 76ers had lost to the Bucks in December 1991. He went out after the game, an altercation occurred, and he was arrested. He had to stand trial the following year but made a successful self-defense argument, and was acquitted. At that point, Barkley decided he was done with the 76ers.

Barkley knows when to walk away. He’s even vowed to step away from sportscasting in a couple of years. When he spent a week in Milwaukee standing trial, he was ready to leave the 76ers. As he told Simmons, he drafted a letter to the team with help from his attorney and agent.

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“Philadelphia has been great to me, it’s a great city, I don’t want to alienate the fans but I’m never coming to Philadelphia again, ever, I’m never gonna play on that court again, y’all have ruined my career,” he apparently said in the letter.

The Chuckster didn’t get a chance to send the letter

Barkley was celebrating his acquittal before sending the letter on the flight. He was so happy he bought everyone drinks on the plane. He got back ‘home’ on a Friday and partied some more with a promise of, “I’m mailing that letter Monday ‘freakin’ morning.”?Then on Sunday, his agent called him with the news that he was being traded to Phoenix. Barkley’s response was, “Man, this is the greatest thing ever.”?

That was how Barkley didn’t become the bad guy in this trade. A few days later, he’d be an Olympic gold medalist, and the 76ers didn’t recover from the void he left.

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