Charles Barkley has never been afraid to speak his mind when it comes to discussing the NBA. He’s criticised and praised those he feels deserve it. He’s incredibly charismatic and is known these days for his antics with Inside the NBA where he analyses and discusses the current state of the league, its biggest stars and its best games.
When he is impressed by someone, though, he isn’t afraid to admit it and has praised basketball players in the past. Recently, in an interview with House of Highlights, he was asked a number of quick-fire questions and one of them was to name his all-time NBA starting five. Without deliberating, he did just that and his time is unorthodox to say the least.
Oscar Robertson
Before Russell Westbrook made history in 2017 and averaged a triple double across a whole NBA season, Oscar Robertson stood alone as the only man to have ever accomplished that feat. Over the course of his career, the point guard averaged 25.7 points, 9.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds on a nightly basis.
You won’t find him at the very top of many all-time point guard lists, but Robertson is held in high regard by most and Barkley has selected him as the point guard in his all-time NBA starting five. It’s surprising that he didn’t go with Magic Johnson or Steph Curry, but Robertson is an NBA icon.
Michael Jordan
There are no prizes for guessing who Barkley picked as his shooting guard as he selected the greatest basketball player of all time in Michael Jordan. The former Chicago Bulls man is considered the best to ever play in the NBA by the majority of fans and pundits alike and Barkley had the chance to compete against him and witness his greatness up close.
They faced off multiple times in the NBA and over the course of six NBA championships, Jordan made an impact on Barkley and, despite the fact that the two are no longer on speaking terms, he selected him in his all-time NBA starting five as the shooting guard over the likes of Kobe Bryant.
Bill Russell
From this point on, things get a little peculiar with Barkley’s team selection. While a traditional NBA lineup consists of a point guard, a shooting guard, a small forward, a power forward and a centre, the 1993 MVP picked three centres to round out his team and the first is former Boston Celtics star Bill Russell.
Considered one of the greatest defenders to ever play in the NBA, Russell was a driving force in Boston’s unprecedented success during the late 1950s and 1960s. Over the course of his 13-year career in the association, the centre won 11 NBA titles, meaning there was only two years when he didn’t win it all. That’s an incredible record that has never been replicated.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The next centre that Barkley selected is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Before LeBron James came along and broke the record, the former Los Angeles Lakers big man was the all-time leading scorer in NBA history and for a time, it seemed unfathomable that anyone would even come close to overtaking him.
His skyhook was an unbeatable move and he was phenomenal on the court for both the Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks prior to his move to California. Kareem spent 20 years playing in the NBA, winning six titles and six MVP awards for his troubles. He retired in 1989, but his legacy is still remembered fondly nearly four decades later.
Wilt Chamberlain
The final player that Barkley named in his starting five is Wilt Chamberlain. The former centre is something of a basketball myth to younger fans, with his accolades being passed around among generations like ghost stories. Chamberlain holds the record for the most points scored in an NBA game ever, with 100 during a match for the San Francisco Warriors against the New York Knicks.
That’s not the only record he holds, though. If you take a look at a long list of the many records set in the NBA throughout the league’s history, his name is sure to appear more than a handful of times. He was the most dominant star the league had ever seen and Barkley couldn’t leave him out of his side.