“Once you got on the block, Karl always wanted to tell you how big he was,” Carr said. Shortly after Barkley bellowed, “ I am not a role model,” Malone’s essay in “Sports Illustrated” slammed him for not taking on the responsibilities that come with being a superstar.īeing the best 4-man was important to Malone, remembered Antoine Carr, a backup big for the Jazz. When Barkley supported Magic Johnson and his HIV diagnosis, Malone threw a fuss over the prospect of competing against him. In an Olympic year when Malone was set to be the breakout star, it was Barkley who seized the role of American ambassador to the game. So I’d have to say surreal is the word,” Barkley exclaimed.īarkley’s first playoff matchup with Malone offered a different look for an individual rivalry dating back to before the first Olympic Dream Team, one filled with as much respect as animosity. “I’m not sure what surreal means, but I heard it on TV once and it sounded pretty damn smart. The Rockets had tied the series and were now two games away from the NBA Finals. Now, after hitting a game-winning 3 as time expired in Game 4, Barkley caught Johnson and lifted him above his head to the chants of “EDD-IE! EDD-IE! EDD-IE!” Eddie Johnson had already saved Houston from going down 0-3 with a 31-point performance in Game 3. The shot fell through the nylon with no time remaining and Barkley raised his arms in the air. Houston stars Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, and Hakeem Olajuwon have questions for the referee during an NBA playoff game in 1997. Yet there was just one thing on Barkley’s mind that afternoon: “The nightlife in Salt Lake City.” Five of the 50 greatest players ever would share the floor for a likely shot at Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and the Bulls. In the conference finals, the Utah Jazz awaited, with John Stockton and the league’s MVP, Karl Malone. The Rockets breezed past Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs and edged Seattle in the second. “Do we have enough left? That’s the question.” “We’re all on the downside now,” he said. Barkley was adjusting quickly to his new teammates, ribbing Price and forward Matt Bullard for not being the “tough white guys” that once ruled the league and asking Olajuwon to turn down the volume on one of his bright red suits.īut getting old was hell and he talked openly about whether they could get the job done. The new squad was older and top-heavy with big man Kevin Willis and 3-point shooter Brent Price. “Our hope in having three superstars was Charles wouldn’t need to take on the full load.”Īside from Olajuwon, Drexler and swingman Mario Elie, much of the team had been gutted. “Charles could still do some really good things on the court, but we knew he was definitely on the downward side of his career,” Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. Houston Rockets forward Charles Barkley fouls Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone during Game 5 of the Western Conference finals series in May 1997. The Rockets had mortgaged their future for a chance to have three future Hall of Famers between the ages of 34 and 35 make one more run at a title, hopefully challenging Chicago’s championship three-peat. Yet Barkley’s window in Houston was limited at best. The expectations were made clear in a poster featuring the Rockets’ new “Big Three” recruits - Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler - standing around the two Larry O’Brien trophies from ’94 and ’95: Title or bust. Just as Barkley lost his skills in “Space Jam” he worried he might lose his skills in real-life basketball while playing in Houston. Kneeling in the church, the desperate star made promises to the Big Man that ranged from unlikely to unreasonable: No more swearing. Fresh off losing all of his basketball talent in “Space Jam” to an alien named Pound, Charles Barkley turned to God for answers on the whereabouts of his powers.
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