BIZARRE: Charles Barkley Gained 30 Pounds in 2 Days to Ensure Philadelphia 76ers Didn’t Draft Him

Former NBA star player, Charles Barkley has a funny story behind him getting drafted in 1984. Apparently, he had put on weight in order to not get picked by the Philadelphia 76ers. Doesn’t it sound absurd? Well, there’s a hilarious side to it.

Back at that time, Charles was playing at Auburn during his college days. Philadelphia 76ers was eyeing Barkley for the 1984 NBA draft. But, one expectation from the franchise’s side was that Barkley should reduce his weight and take it down to 275 lb. The kid from Auburn was 300 lb then and he managed to cut it down to 272 before the draft.

Just two days before going for the draft in New York, his agent had news for him. “My agent says they (Philadelphia 76ers) have a hard cap in NBA and you’re gonna get like the minimum. One year, $75000. I said, ‘I didn’t leave college for $75,000.” Charles told Graham Bensinger on his talk show in 2016. “So, I said well we got to make sure the Sixers don’t draft me then.”

Charles Barkley finds a way to not get drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers but eventually failed

Now the plan was, Charles was going to increase his weight by eating to avoid getting drafted by the 76ers. “So we went on a two-day in-binge.” The next morning he went with his agent and had six pancakes, bacon, vanilla shake, and on top of that Kentucky fried chicken, some mashed potatoes, some coleslaw for lunch. “So the next day, we fly to Philly, I get on the scale and I’m 302.”

Charles Barkley was the fifth overall pick by the 76ers in the 1984 draft. He went on to become a star player for the team. An 11-time NBA All-star and the MVP for the 1993 season, Barkley became a famous NBA player. But that day, his look was different on the face and he admits it.

“If people take a good look at the tape and when he said, ‘The No.5 pick the 76ers take Charles Barkley’, the look on my face is, ‘Are you kidding me?'” Charles hilariously narrated that incident.

It’s funny how things turn out in the NBA. How the journey begins and where they end up, some players really had an interesting time out there.