Fans these days might only recognize Charles Barkley as one of the voices of Inside The NBA, but in his prime, he was one of the most skilled power forwards the NBA has ever seen despite only standing at six foot six.
However, like all other athletes, he did have games where he wasn't at his best. In one particular game during the 1991-1992 NBA season, Barkley played in unusual circumstances, and he couldn't remember anything that happened from the contest. Here's how it happened.
Barkley was drafted with the fifth overall pick of the 1984 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, and his time with them was a mix of individual brilliance and team disappointment. By the 1991-1992 season, Barkley felt he was wasting his prime playing for a team that didn't have a shot at winning a title. As we see a lot of players do nowadays, Barkley started pushing for a trade.
His desire for a change in scenery was momentarily realized a few days before the trade deadline when his agent informed him one morning that he was being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for James Worthy. The deal wasn't sent to the league office just yet, but that didn't stop Barkley from celebrating.
How Charles Barkley ended up playing a game drunk
To celebrate, Barkley went to lunch with two of his friends and had a couple of beers. In Barkley's words, he ended up having a little more beer than he expected to have. Three hours later, Barkley's agent called with disappointing news; the Sixers backed out of the deal. What made the situation worse for Barkley was that Philly had a game that very night.
Barkley never revealed when the game actually happened, but he did admit to playing poorly. When you check his stats from that season and look for matchups near the trade deadline, this game had to happen on February 12th, 1992, against the New Jersey Nets. In that game, Barkley scored just six points in 38 minutes while shooting 28 percent from the field. The Sixers ended up losing that game by 15 points.
Barkley would eventually get his wish granted in the offseason when he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry, and Andrew Lang. Unfortunately, his quest for an NBA title never materialized.
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