Don’t Think People Realize How Good Sixers Barkley Was
Most fans remember Barkley as the unexpected star of the Dream Team and who blossomed the following season to lead the Suns to the finals and taking the Bulls to six in the finals.
Some remember an older Barkley joining Hakeem and failing to add a ring late in his career.
But, the discourse around Sixers Barkley is generally reduced to he put up numbers on a bad team.
Charles Barkley was drafted in 1984 to a LOADED Sixers team, but were upset in 5 games in the first round to the Nets. Barkley joined a nucleus of 29 year old Moses Malone (3rd in MVP Barkley’s rookie year), Maurice Cheeks (All-D first team), 34 year old Julius Erving, and prime Andrew Toney. Barkley averaged 15⁄11 and 3 stocks in the playoffs, with the Sixers going down in 5 in the ECF to the Celtics.
The Sixers rebounded the next year, despite losing Andrew Toney to career ending stress fracture injuries in both feet. They were still poised to make a run, before Moses fractured his eye socket weeks before the playoffs. The Sixers lost in 7 to the Bucks in the 2nd round, with a 22 year old Barkley averaging 25/16/5 and 3.6 stocks in the playoffs. He finished ALL-NBA 2nd team and sixth in MVP voting.
The Sixers then traded Moses Malone and a 36 year old Dr. J took a step back and only played 60 games. Cheeks and Barkley were their two remaining All-Stars, Barkley put up 25⁄13 on 57% shooting in the playoffs, losing in 5 in the first round to the same Bucks team.
The Dr. J retired and the wheels came off. While Barkley finished his first All-NBA first team and fourth in MVP voting while putting up 28⁄12 and shooting 59% from the floor and getting to the line 12 times per game, they missed the playoffs for the first time in his career.
In the 1988-1989 season, Barkley led the Sixers back to the playoffs, but they were swept in the first round. He averaged 26/13/4 on insane efficiency during the season and improved his playoff performance even further with 27/12/5, shooting over 64% from the floor.
In 1989-1990, Barkley is the lone man left from the core of the mid-80s Sixers. He finished All-NBA first team for the third consecutive year and finishes 2nd in MVP, scoring 25/12/4 on 60% shooting. He leads the new-look Sixers, flanked by Hersey Hawkins and Johnny Dawkins, to 53 wins. He finished ahead of Jordan in the MVP race and actually had more 1st place votes than the winner, Magic Johnson. They beat a good Cavs team in the 1st round and lose to MJ and the Bulls in round 2. In the playoffs, Barkley averages 25/16/4 on 54% shooting, including 24⁄17 against the Bulls. MJ has arguably his greatest series ever, with 43/7/7 on 55% shooting.
Barkley has another stellar year in 1990-1991, and Hersey Hawkins is voted an All-Star, only for Johnny Dawkins to miss nearly the entire season. They sweep the Bucks, only to again go down in 5 to the eventual champion Bulls. Barkley puts up 26/10/5 on 64% from the field during the series.
Charles has another stellar 91-92 season, but the team underachieves and he is traded to Phoenix in the off-season.
While Chuck had his chances in Phoenix and showed he was the second best player in the league during the 93 season, it’s lost to time how dominant he was during the first near-decade of his career, when mostly circumstances outside of his control impacted his ability to win.