22 June 2023 , 11:00
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Charles Barkley sensationally tried to eat his way out of being selected by the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of the 1984 NBA Draft.
Some 39 years ago, the 76ers decided to select Barkley out of Auburn with the likes of Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon off the board. The NBA’s all-time leader in assists, John Stockton, was also a member of the 1984 class which stands alone as perhaps the greatest draft in league history.
Barkley stayed in Philadelphia for eight seasons before he was traded to the Phoenix Suns, where he reached the 1993 NBA Finals. He ended his career with the Houston Rockets, retiring as an 11-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA First Team member.
The 60-year-old eventually had his number retired by the 76ers in a tribute to his spell in Philadelphia en route to an iconic Hall of Fame career. Ahead of being drafted, Barkley knew of the 76ers’ interest - but he didn’t want to join the franchise as the money he was set to receive was lower than he expected.
“I was about 300 pounds in college,” Barkley told Jason and Travis Kelce on their podcast, New Heights. “The Sixers had brought me in for a visit and the owner says, ‘Hey, everybody’s concerned about your weight.’
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“I think I had like six weeks before the draft. He says, ‘I want you to stop back here the day before the draft. We want you to weigh 285.’
“I get down to about 285 and then my agent says to me, ‘They have a hard cap in the NBA, so if you get drafted by the Sixers, you’re going to have to play your first year for $75,000’ - s***, I didn’t leave college for $75,000; I could’ve gotten that much in college…
(Getty Images)“So we went on an eating binge. I stop in Philly - I weighed 298. I leave and I’m thinking like, ‘Whew, we dodged a bullet.’
“If you go back and look at the tape, there’s this look on my face when they said, ‘With the fifth overall pick in the draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select Charles Barkley out of Auburn,’ I’ve got this look on my face like ‘What the f***?'”
It’s safe to say the money bestowed upon prospects in the NBA Draft has changed. Whoever is selected fifth overall - currently set to be picked by the Detroit Pistons - will sign a contract worth more than $6million (£4.7m) for their rookie season, which is quite a bit more than the $75,000 Barkley received.
The 2023 NBA Draft takes place on 22 June at the Brooklyn Nets’ Barclays Center in New York.