As mentioned in prior profiles here in the Zone, the NBA has had plenty of characters in its history. Today's profilee certainly had character; he was named All-NBA Interview for each of his final thirteen seasons as a pro. He may not have won a title, but he has won a regular season MVP and a All-Star Game MVP. He is the "Round Mound of Rebound", "Sir" Charles Barkley.

Charles Barkley was born February 20, 1963 in Leeds, Alabama. Barkley didn't become a starter at Leeds High School until his senior year, but he was spectacular, averaging 19.1 PPG and 17.9 RPG, leading the school to the state semifinals. That performance led him to attend Auburn University where, as an undersized (as far as height goes) center, he was 3rd team All-America in 1984, won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) player of the year award in 1984, and was All-SEC 1st team twice and All-SEC 2nd team twice. For his college career, he averaged 13.6 PPG (high of 15.1 in 1983-84) and 9.3 RPG (best of 9.8 in 1981-82). After his junior year, Barkley declared for the 1984 NBA Draft, and was selected fifth overall in the draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

As a rookie, Barkley posted respectable numbers of 14 PPG and 8.6 RPG, earning a spot on the All-NBA Rookie team and helping the Sixers reach the conference finals. As the decade progressed and the Sixers' nucleus aged, Barkley began to assume more of the load offensively. In his second year, he averaged 20 PPG and 12.8 RPG, and in 1986-87, he became the shortest player (six foot six officially) to win the rebounding title (14.6 RPG). That year, Julius Erving retired, leaving Barkley as the face of the entire franchise.

Barkley had his best season to date in the 1987-88 season, with averages of 28.3 PPG and 11.9 RPG, making his second straight All-Star Game (his other appearences were from 1989-96, and he was selected but did not play in 1994 and 1997). Two seasons later, in 1989-90, Barkley finished second to Magic Johnson in the MVP voting, averaging 25.2 PPG and 11.5 RPG and leading the Sixers to their first division title since 1982-83. However, Barkley and Sixer management didn't see eye-to-eye, and after missing the playoffs in 1991-92, the Sixers traded Barkley to the Phoenix Suns for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang.

In his first season with the Suns, Barkley had a great season, averaging 25.6 PPG, 12.2 RPG and 5.1 APG, leading Phoenix to a league-best 62-20 record and the Pacific Division title, for which he won the regular season MVP award. Barkley led the Suns to the NBA Finals, where they came up just short, losing to the Chicago Bulls in six games. The Suns played well throughout Barkley's tenure; they won another division title in 1994-95, and won better than 56 games in three of his four seasons, but never won a NBA title. In an attempt to facilitate that title, after winning his second Olympic gold medal in 1996 (he was also a part of the famous "Dream Team" in 1992, and in fact led both teams in PPG), Barkley was traded to the Houston Rockets for Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Chucky Brown and Mark Bryant.

In 1996-97, Barkley played only 53 games, but averaged a solid 19.2 PPG and 13.5 RPG (his second-best average), but the Rockets were eliminated by the Utah Jazz in the conference finals. Barkley's final three seasons were beset by injuries; he missed 14 games in 1997-98 and eight games in 1998-99 before tearing a quadricep muscle after 19 games in 1999-2000. But, in his last memorable moment, Barkley returned for one more game against Vancouver late in the season, grabbing an offensive rebound and putting the ball in for a score, receiving a standing ovation from the hometown crowd. Barkley retired after that game with career marks of 23,757 points (22.1 PPG career, 18th all-time) and 12,546 rebounds (11.7 RPG, 16th all-time), and was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He has worked for TNT as an NBA analyst since 2000.

Season-by-Season Statistical Review:
1984-85: 82 GP, 60 GS, 14.0 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, 54.5 FG%, 73.3 FT%, 16.7 3P%
1985-86: 80 GP, 80 GS, 20.0 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 3.9 APG, 57.2 FG%, 68.5 FT%, 22.7 3P%
1986-87: 68 GP, 62 GS, 23.0 PPG, 14.6 RPG, 4.9 APG, 59.4 FG%, 76.1 FT%, 20.2 3P%
1987-88: 80 GP, 80 GS, 28.3 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 3.2 APG, 58.7 FG%, 75.1 FT%, 28.0 3P%
1988-89: 79 GP, 79 GS, 25.8 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 4.1 APG, 57.9 FG%, 75.3 FT%, 21.6 3P%
1989-90: 79 GP, 79 GS, 25.2 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 3.9 APG, 60.0 FG%, 74.9 FT%, 21.7 3P%
1990-91: 67 GP, 67 GS, 27.6 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 4.2 APG, 57.0 FG%, 72.2 FT%, 28.4 3P%
1991-92: 75 GP, 75 GS, 23.1 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, 55.2 FG%, 69.5 FT%, 23.4 3P%
1992-93: 76 GP, 76 GS, 25.6 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 5.1 APG, 52.0 FG%, 76.5 FT%, 30.5 3P%
1993-94: 65 GP, 65 GS, 21.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 4.6 APG, 49.5 FG%, 70.4 FT%, 27.0 3P%
1994-95: 68 GP, 66 GS, 23.0 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, 48.6 FG%, 74.8 FT%, 33.8 3P%
1995-96: 71 GP, 71 GS, 23.2 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 3.7 APG, 50.0 FG%, 77.7 FT%, 28.0 3P%
1996-97: 53 GP, 53 GS, 19.2 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 4.7 APG, 48.4 FG%, 69.4 FT%, 28.3 3P%
1997-98: 68 GP, 41 GS, 15.2 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 3.2 APG, 48.5 FG%, 74.6 FT%, 21.4 3P%
1998-99: 42 GP, 40 GS, 16.1 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 4.6 APG, 47.8 FG%, 71.9 FT%, 16.0 3P%
1999-2000: 20 GP, 18 GS, 14.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.2 APG, 47.7 FG%, 64.5 FT%, 23.1 3P%