Sir Charles enshrined outside the Sixers’ practice facility.
The Philadelphia 76ers honored “The Round Mound Rebound” Charles Barkley on Friday, as they ficially unveiled his brand new statue along the Legends Walk outside the team’s practice facility in Camden, New Jersey. Barkley’s first reaction upon seeing the statue? “I don’t know if I’ve ever been that skinny.”
During the ceremony, the 11-time All Star told stories about the start his career in Philadelphia, and praised fellow Hall Famer Moses Malone for helping him realize how “fat and lazy” he was. Check out some footage from today’s festivities below.
Barkley was selected fifth overall out Auburn by the Sixers in the 1984 NBA Draft and he spent his first eight seasons with the franchise before moving on to the Phoenix Suns, and later the Houston Rockets.
During his eight seasons with the Sixers, Sir Charles earned All Star honors six times while averaging 23.3 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per night. He averaged double-digit rebounds in 15 his 16 NBA seasons, with the lone outlier being his rookie season where he ripped down 8.6 boards a night to go along with 14 points per game.
Other former Sixers who have been immortalized with their own statues include the likes Wilt Chamberlain, Maurice Cheeks, Julius Erving and Bobby Jones. The Hall Fame forward has also had his jersey retired by all three teams that he played for during his illustrious career.