“I thank him for taking this little fat kid under his wing’’ Charles Barkley on his relationship with Moses Malone
“I thank him for taking this little fat kid under his wing’’: Charles Barkley on his relationship with Moses Malone
Charles Barkley talked about his relationship with Moses Malone. Barkley and Malone were very close to each other, not just on the court as players but also in person. Fans could never expect them to have such a relationship.
Barkley stepped into the Philadelphia 76ers and met the best players like Maurice Cheeks, Julius Erving, and Malone. The team could not get the championship with Barkley, but it was the relationships that Barkley built with the 76ers.
Barkley became the person he is now with the help of Malone. If there was someone Barkley could genuinely look up to, it was Malone, not just on the court but also outside it. Malone helped him with his career. Barkley even gave him the credit for his success.
Barkley on ”Showtime Basketball”
On ”Showtime Basketball”, Barkley said,” Now, I’m playing with real players. Can’t play at that weight. Don’t know it, just, you know, I’m a rookie. Hey, rookie thing, playing a ton, I’m playing some minutes. But then I’m not getting no quality minutes, and so Moses – Me and Moses happen to live in the same building. Moses lived in the penthouse, I lived on like the sixth floor if I remember correctly. – and I said, ‘Mo, can I come see you tonight?’
And he said, ‘Sure.’ And I called him dad, even to this day, and one of the most bittersweet things, his family knew how close we were. I got to speak it, do the eulogy at his funeral (in 2015). I love that dude. But, so I go up. I said, ‘Big Mo, why am I not getting to play?’ He said, ‘Oh, young fella, you’re fat and you’re lazy.’
“I’m like, ‘What?’ He says, ‘You’re fat and you’re lazy.’ He said, ‘Charles, you can’t play at 300 pounds in the NBA, young fella … can’t work hard at 300 pounds.’ But he said, he says, ‘You want to lose weight? I come meet you before practice, after practice. … I thank him for taking this little fat kid under his wing.”
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