While Charles Barkley might be remembered for his time with the , it was Philadelphia that first drafted him. He spent the first eight seasons of his career in Philly, and it seems Barkley still has an inherent connection with the city and its people.
During the podcast, a fan confessed that if he had Barkley’s $60 million net worth, he would prefer to spend the summers in some place other than Philadelphia. That led the guest to ask Chuck why the former 76ers superstar remains drawn to the city.
Of course, the Chuckster had a unique answer to the fan’s question. Barkley said, “I’m gonna tell you why I live in Philly during the summer. Saucon Valley, Merion, Pine Valley, Aronimik, Commonwealth, all golf courses.”
He further added, “First of all it’s 120 degrees in Phoenix, it’s too hot to be in Phoenix. I live in Philly for the golf. Plain and simple.”
Barkley is an avid golfer and has numerous golfing stories with six-time NBA champion . They were golfing buddies during their time in the league despite being rivals on the court. Interestingly, Chuck while playing golf.
Charles was set to join Philadelphia in the 1984 NBA draft. While the thought of joining a top team like the Sixers right after college might entice millions of aspiring basketball stars, Barkley was different.
He was in no mood to join them. In fact, he went on a 48-hour-eating spree in order to gain weight so that the team would be persuaded to drop him. This was mostly because he was not satisfied with the pay offered by the Sixers.
However, everything went according to plan, and the Sixers drafted him as the 5th overall pick in the 1984 draft. The draft class had other NBA legends like Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon, who were drafted ahead of Chuck.
