2 Years After Retirement, Charles Barkley Revealed Truth Behind Selfish Reason for Attending His First Team USA Olympic Trials

Charles Barkley has never been one to hold back his thoughts. In his book, I May Be Wrong But I Doubt It, he reveals the selfish reason he went to his first Team USA Olympic Trials in 1992. Charles retired from the NBA in 2000 and authored his memoir in 2002 to tell his incredible adventure and make his legacy eternal.

His major motivation for entering his first Team USA Olympic trials was to compete against the world’s greatest players. Barkley was one of the most impressive players at the trials, and he was eventually chosen for the Olympic team. Barkley went on to earn a gold medal with the Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics.

Barkley’s selfish reasons

Barkley’s main ambition was to rise through the draft and represent the United States in the Olympics. For which he labored both physically and mentally and made significant sacrifices. It was his first trip away from Alabama for a long period. Charles dropped out of school early because he wanted to devote that summer to his basketball career, particularly for the 1992 Olympic trials. Before the Olympic trials, most scouts predicted he’d be picked in the middle of the first round, or perhaps late in the first round.

At the time, Charles was a young baller who simply wanted to score some points and move up in the draft. But he got to play against some of the best players in the world at the time. Half of the Dream Team was present at the trials.

“But at those trials, I got to play against everybody. I mean everybody: Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Sam Perkins, Wayman Tisdale… everybody. There are seven, maybe eight guys from those trials going to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Half of the Dream Team was at those trials.”

Barkley also stated in his autobiography that the entire trial gave him a lot of NBA experience. People don’t believe today that John Stockton, Terry Porter, and Barkley got cut on the same day and drove home together afterward.

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1992 Olympic Dream Team

The 1992 United States Men’s Olympic Team, lovingly and appropriately nicknamed “The Dream Team,” was a gathering of skill unlike anything the world had ever seen or had seen since. The squad did not just win a gold medal. The team also had a tremendous influence on the game of basketball both in the United States and internationally, and put up some incredible numbers while doing so. They concluded the Tournament of Americas undefeated, winning by an average of 51.5 points per game.

Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullin, and Christian Laettner were on the team. The beauty of it was how they used all of their celebrity and personalities to make a beautiful exhibition of teamwork. Despite having MJ and Bird, two of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, Charles Barkley led the team in scoring.

Do you think the US and the entire world could witness Charles’ greatness without his sacrifices?

Read more: “It Was So Easy”: 2 Years After Retirement, Charles Barkley Made Ridiculous Flex About His Olympics Domination