name	T-Mobile International AG
logo
type	Private (subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG)
foundation
defunct
location city	Bonn
location country	Germany
area served	Europe, United States, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands
key people	Alec Smalle, Chief Executive Officer
industry	Telecommunications
products	Wireless PDAs
services	Mobile communications, DSL
num employees	36,000
parent	Deutsche Telekom AG
subsid	T-Mobile UK T-Mobile USA, Inc.
homepage
intl	}}

T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The company has financial stakes in mobile operators in both Central and Eastern Europe.

The T-Mobile aka (SWAGG) brand is present in ten European countries – Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom – as well as the US, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

Globally, T-Mobile International subsidiaries have a combined total of approximately 150 million subscribers, making the company the world's twelfth-largest mobile-phone service provider by subscribers and the third-largest multinational after the UK's Vodafone and Spain's Telefónica.

History

Germany's initial mobile-communications services were radiotelephone systems that were owned and operated by the state postal monopoly, Deutsche Bundespost. On July 1, 1989, West Germany reorganized Deutsche Bundespost and consolidated telecommunications into a new unit, Deutsche Bundespost Telekom. Deutsche Bundespost Telekom built and operated Germany's first cellular mobile network, and eventually created the DeTeMobil subsidiary as a holding company for Deutsche Bundespost Telekom's wireless communications assets.

Deutsche Bundespost Telekom was renamed Deutsche Telekom in 1995, and began to be privatized in 1996. That same year, DT began to brand its subsidiaries with the T- prefix, re-naming the DeTeMobil subsidiary T-Mobil.

In 2002, as DT consolidated its international operations, it anglicized the T-Mobil name to T-Mobile.

On April 1, 2010, the T-Home and T-Mobile German operations merged to form a new wholly owned DT subsidiary, Telekom Deutschland GmbH. The T-Mobile brand was discontinued in Germany and replaced with the Telekom brand. The T-Mobile brand is still used in markets outside Germany. Non-German mobile-network assets are organized into various country-specific subsidiaries under the T-Mobile International AG subsidiary of DT.

In 2010, T-Mobile UK became part of a joint venture with France Telecom's UK mobile-network provider, Orange UK. Combined, the two companies make the UK's largest mobile-network operator, called Everything Everywhere. Despite the joint venture, the T-Mobile and Orange brand continue to co-exist in the UK market.

The T-Mobile brand is present in ten European countries – Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom – as well as the United States, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

Globally, T-Mobile International subsidiaries have a combined total of approximately 150 million subscribers, making T-Mobile International the world's tenth-largest mobile-phone service provider by subscribers and the third-largest multinational after the UK's Vodafone and Spain's Telefónica.

European ventures

Austria

Until 2000 T-Mobile was a shareholder of the former max.mobil. network. In April 2001, it acquired one hundred percent and subsequently introduced the T-Mobile brand in Austria by rebranding max.mobil. in April 2002 as T-Mobile Austria.

In 2005, it acquired former competitor tele.ring from ''Western Wireless International''. It is now used as a discount brand. tele.ring is an Austrian mobile network operator. Since it was bought by T-Mobile in 2006, it is no longer a legally independent company. However, tele.ring is administratively independent and now acts primarily as a discount-offer, similar to Yesss and BoB of Orange and A1. In the past, tele.ring was known for their aggressive price-politics.

Croatia

T-Mobile entered the Croatian market in October 1999 when DT initially acquired a thirty-five percent interest in Hrvatski telekom, including its cell phone service provider ''Cronet''. Two years later, DT signed an agreement with the Croatian government to acquire the additional sixteen percent needed for a majority holding. In January 2003, Hrvatski Telekom assembled all of its mobile activities under a single brand ''HTmobile''. Finally, in October 2004, ''HTmobile'' became ''T-Mobile Hrvatska'', or ''T-Mobile Croatia'', thus joining the global T-Mobile family also by name. Since January 1, 2010, Hrvatski Telekom and T-Mobile Croatia merged into one company on the Croatian market under the name Hrvatski Telekom (in English: Croatian Telecom) However, the T-Mobile brand remains active in the mobile-business area and T-Com in the fixed-business area.

Czech Republic

T-Mobile was previously known as ''Paegas'' in the Czech Republic.

T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s. has been operating in the Czech market since 1996. As of May 30, 2008, 5.273 million customers were using T-Mobile services.

T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s. operates a public mobile communications network on the GSM standard in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands and is also authorized to operate a UMTS network. On October 19, 2005, T-Mobile was the first operator in the Czech Republic to launch this third-generation technology under the name ''Internet 4G''.

Germany

Germany's initial mobile communications services were radiotelephone systems that were owned and operated by the state postal monopoly, ''Deutsche Bundespost''. These early mobile communications networks were referred to as the "A" and "B" networks.

Deutsche Bundespost Telekom built Germany's first cellular mobile network, an analog, first-generation system referred to as the "C" network or C-Netz. The network became operational in 1985 and services were marketed under the C-Tel brand. Following German reunification in 1990, the "C" network was extended to the former East Germany.

On July 1, 1992, Deutsche Bundespost Telekom's ''DeTeMobil'' subsidiary began operating Germany's first GSM 900 MHz frequency cellular network, which the organization referred to as ''D-Netz''. Digital GSM services were marketed under the "D1" brand and DeTeMobil continued to sell analog cellular services concurrently under the existing C-Tel brand. In 1994, DeTeMobil introduced short message service (SMS) services.

In 1996, DT began to brand its subsidiaries with the ''T-'' prefix, re-naming the DeTeMobil subsidiary T-Mobil and re-branding the GSM cellular network ''T-D1''. C-Netz was re-named to T-C-Tel. The T-C-Tel / C-Netz services were fully discontinued in 2000.

D1 introduced prepaid service called ''Xtra'' in 1997.

Despite the numerous changes in subsidiary names and brands, Germans sometimes continue to use the''T-D1'' name within Germany and refer to T-Mobile as D1.

On April 1, 2010, after the T-Home and T-Mobile German operations merged to form Telekom Deutschland GmbH, a wholly owned DT subsidiary; the T-Mobile brand was discontinued in Germany and replaced with the Telekom brand.

In T-Mobile's home market of Germany, it is the largest mobile-phone operator with almost 16 million subscribers (), closely followed by its primary rival, Vodafone. T-Mobile plans to add UMTS services to its German network, having spent EUR 8.2 billion in August 2000 to acquire one of the six available licenses.

Hungary

In May 2004, the same day as Hungary joined the European Union, the former company, named ''Westel'' (which was owned entirely by the former Matáv) changed its name, and the entire marketing. Westel was the most popular cellphone network in Hungary at the time. The company was called ''T-Mobile Hungary'', but after some financial decisions, as with the other ''T-'' companies, it formed to ''Magyar Telekom Nyrt. Mobil Szolgáltatások Üzletág'' (Hungarian Telekom, Mobile Services Business Unit), but they still say ''T-Mobile''. T-Mobile also provides high-speed services, like EDGE, 3G, and HSDPA in the major cities of Hungary.

Macedonia

In Macedonia, T-Mobile was previously known as ''Mobimak''. The company has been operating in the Macedonian market since 1996. On September 7, 2006, Mobimak accepted the international T-Mobile branding. By June 2007, T-Mobile reached one million subscribers, out of which eighty-five percent were active and using their services. T-Mobile MK covers ninety-eight percent of the population. It has a GSM 900 license, offers GPRS, MMS and mobile internet services using T-Mobile HotSpots and has implemented the EDGE fast mobile internet specification. T-Mobile Macedonia applied for a UMTS license on August 1, 2007. The codes are 070/071/072.

Montenegro

The T-Mobile brand entered the Montenegrin market in 2006 through the acquisition of MoNet GSM mobile provider. T-Mobile Montenegro (''T-Mobile Crna Gora'') is fully owned by T-Crnogorski Telekom, which is itself owned by Magyar Telekom, a DT subsidiary. Although the acquisition by Magyar Telekom was done in 2005, it was not until September 26, 2006, that the MoNet GSM operator was re-branded as T-Mobile Montenegro.

MoNet GSM launched on July 1, 2000, as part of Telecom Montenegro. It became an independent incorporated limited-liability company a month later, on August 1, 2000. The company currently holds around 34 percent of the Montenegrin market and uses GSM 900, GPRS, and EDGE technologies. Since June 21, 2007, 3G/UMTS services have been available in larger cities as well as on the coast.

The Netherlands

T-Mobile entered the Dutch market by the acquisition of Ben on September 20, 2002. T-Mobile Netherlands, a wholly owned subsidiary of T-Mobile International, acquired Orange Netherlands from France Télécom for EUR 1.33 billion. This makes it the second largest mobile telephone operator in the country behind KPN.

Capacity problems

T-Mobile announced in May 2010 that it was dealing with major capacity-problems on its 3G network. T-Mobile admitted the problems after a lot of pressure from customers and Dutch media. T-Mobile could not keep up with the growing data demand of smartphones, caused by the amount of new customers that wanted an iPhone, which was at the time sold exclusively by AT&T.; T-Mobile failed to keep up with the demand, and capacity problems on the network were the result. T-Mobile denied the problems at first by saying to complaining customers that their mobile phone or SIM-card was causing the problem.

The capacity problems occurred mostly in cities and densely populated areas. When affected, people could experience problems with calling or receiving calls, text messaging (SMS) or data-services. A substantial number of customers were not able to use any of these services in cities or urban areas when the network capacity was overloaded, for instance the cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht were heavily impacted.

After being put under pressure by several consumer interest groups and Dutch media, T-Mobile started a cash-back settlement for all consumers which had complained about failing communication services.

T-Mobile invested tens of millions of euros to upgrade its network. The upgrade was to have been completed by the end of first quarter of 2011. Until then, such incoveniences may be experienced in overloaded service areas.

Poland

T-Mobile (Poland) serves over thirteen million customers, and owns licenses for GSM 900, 1800, and UMTS. Formerly ''Era'', rebranding took place on June 5, 2011. The décor of Era's offices was updated. The rebranding was preceded by a number of concerts, featuring underground dubstep scene artists, such as Caspa & Rusko, and one major world-known music star whose name has not been revealed yet.

Slovakia

The T-Mobile brand entered the Slovak market in May 2005, after rebranding the EuroTel network from Eurotel Bratislava to ''T-Mobile Slovensko''. The company Eurotel Bratislava was partially owned by Slovak Telekom, an incumbent fixed-line operator, which later acquired a one hundred percent stake in Eurotel Bratislava. T-Mobile International and DT never owned T-Mobile Slovensko directly, however, DT is partially owner of Slovak Telekom and thus T-Mobile International has procurement managing function within T-Mobile Slovensko. On July 1, 2010, Slovak Telekom and T-Mobile Slovensko merged into one company on the Slovak market under the name Slovak Telekom, however T-Mobile brand remains active in the mobile-business area and T-Com in the fixed-business area.

The T-Mobile network provides services on three networks GSM (900/1800 MHz), UMTS (2100 MHz), Flash OFDM (450 MHz). Mobile data services are provided on GSM network with EDGE extension and on UMTS with HSPA 7,2 bit/s/1,54 bit/s. Flash OFDM is one of two commercially successfully launched solely data networks in the world. It supports download speed up to 5.3 MBit/s.

===United Kingdom=== ''T-Mobile UK'' started life as ''Mercury One2One'', the world's first GSM 1800 mobile network. It was originally operated by the now-defunct Mercury Communications. Later known simply as ''One 2 One'', it was purchased by DT in 1999 and rebranded as T-Mobile in 2002.

T-Mobile offers both pay-as-you-go and pay-monthly contract phones. The pay-monthly contracts consists of set amounts of minutes and 'flexible boosters' which allow the customer to change them month to month depending on their needs. T-Mobile launched their 3G UMTS services in the Autumn of 2003.

In late 2007, it was confirmed that a merger of the high-speed 3G and HSDPA networks operated by T-Mobile UK and 3 (UK) was to take place starting January 2008. This will leave T-Mobile and 3 with the largest HSDPA mobile phone network in the country

In 2009, France Telecom's Orange and DT, T-Mobile's parent, announced they were in advanced talks to merge their UK operations to create the largest mobile operator. In March 2010, the European Commission approved this merger on the condition that the combined company sell 25% of the spectrum it owns on the 1800 MHz radio band and amend a network sharing agreement with smaller rival 3. The merger was completed the following month, the new company's name later being announced as "Everything Everywhere". However, Orange and T-Mobile will continue as separate brands in the market for at least eighteen months, both run by the new parent company.

T-Mobile UK's network is also used as the backbone network behind the Virgin Mobile virtual network.

Ownership stakes

{| |- |Albania — ||AMC¹ |- |Bulgaria — ||GLOBUL¹ |- |Bosnia and Herzegovina — ||HT d.d. (ERONET) |- |Greece — ||Cosmote¹ |- |Romania — ||Cosmote¹ |}

¹ Deutsche Telekom controls 40 percent plus one of the shares of parent company OTE.

United States venture

T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the Bellevue, Washington, United States-based subsidiary of T-Mobile International AG. T-Mobile USA is currently the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the US with 33.73 million customers and annual revenue of US$21.35 billion in 2010. DT accepted a US$39 billion purchase offer from AT&T;, Inc. for T-Mobile USA, Inc. The sale is expected to close in 2012 pending regulatory approval. On August 31, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit to block AT&T;'s acquisition of T-Mobile.

T-Mobile USA, Inc. traces its roots to the 1994 establishment of VoiceStream Wireless PCS as a subsidiary of Western Wireless Corporation. Spun off from parent Western Wireless on May 3, 1999, VoiceStream Wireless Corporation was purchased by DT on May 31, 2001, for US$35 billion and re-named T-Mobile USA, Inc. in July 2002.

T-Mobile USA owns licenses to operate a 1900 MHz GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) PCS (Personal Communications Service) digital cellular network and a 1700 MHz/2100 MHz UMTS AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) digital cellular network that cover areas of the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. T-Mobile USA provides coverage in areas in which it does not own radio frequency spectrum licenses via roaming agreements with other operators of compatible networks.

In addition to its cellular mobile network, T-Mobile USA operates a nationwide Wi-Fi Internet-access network under the T-Mobile HotSpots brand. The T-Mobile HotSpots network consists of thousands of Wi-Fi access points installed in businesses, hotels and airports throughout the US.

Subscriber statistics

All T-Mobile networks (including affiliates and minority owned): 148.4 million (as of March 2009)

Marketing

Beginning in 2009, T-Mobile embarked upon a progressive marketing campaign with hip commercials featuring, Charles Barkley, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard and Kym Whitley. Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones has also appeared in television commercials for the company.

The current five-note T-Mobile audio logo was composed by Lance Massey And was originally part of the song ("Hello Ola" by Clan Chi) used to promote DT's Tour de France bicycle team.

In 2002, an advertisement for UK television for when T-Mobile introduced picture messaging; was aired, which shows the face of a baby be spread around a built-up area as things like billboards, posters, shirts, and on newspapers. The advertisement featuring the Röyksopp song "So Easy", and the song was consequently a #21 hit single in the UK, along with its double a-side partner "Remind Me". The advertisement is believed to have inspired music videos like ''Where Is the Love?'' (by The Black Eyed Peas) and ''Have a Nice Day'' (by Bon Jovi).

Sponsorships

T-Mobile was the official sponsor of English Football League Championship side West Bromwich Albion. They also previously sponsored Rotherham United as well as Scottish Premier League clubs Rangers and Celtic.

As well as current kit sponsors for Bayern Munich, Ferencvárosi TC, and West Bromwich Albion, T-Mobile were co-sponsors of Everton with the One2One brand and they also sponsored the 2002 FA Youth Cup Final. T-Mobile were also kit sponsors for English club Birmingham City. The phone company is also involved in sponsoring leagues, such as the Austrian Football Bundesliga, which is named the T-Mobile Bundesliga. It was also the official global mobile phone carrier for the 2006 FIFA World Cup football tournament in Germany and sponsored its own cycling team, the T-Mobile Team (now Team HTC-High Road).

T-Mobile also has banner ads at some matches of Mexico's top league, Primera División de México, despite not having a presence in that country. Presumably, this is an attempt to market to the US's Hispanic and more specifically Mexican community; many top-flight Mexican matches are televised in the US on both English- and Spanish-language networks.

See also

Electronic Beats

Microsoft data loss 2009

Open Handset Alliance

T-Mobile Team

T-Mobile Arena

T-Online

References

External links

T-Mobile International

Deutsche Telekom (DT) Parent company of T-Mobile International AG

AT&T; & T-Mobile Merger Deal Gets West Virginia’s Public Service Commission Clearance

Category:Companies based in Bonn Category:Companies established in 1990 Category:Deutsche Telekom Category:German brands Category:Mobile phone companies of Austria Category:Mobile phone companies of Germany Category:Mobile phone companies of Montenegro Category:Telecommunications companies of the United Kingdom Category:Wi-Fi providers

az:T-Mobile cs:T-Mobile de:T-Mobile es:T-Mobile fr:T-Mobile ko:T-모바일 id:T-Mobile it:T-Mobile lt:T-Mobile hu:T-Mobile (cégcsoport) mk:T-Mobile nl:T-Mobile ja:T-モバイル no:T-Mobile pl:T-Mobile pt:T-Mobile ru:T-Mobile simple:T-Mobile sk:T-Mobile Slovensko sv:T-Mobile tr:T-Mobile wuu:德国无线通信 zh:T-Mobile

name	The Holidays
Background	group_or_band
origin	Sydney, Australia
genre	Indie rock, Pop rock, Soul
label	Liberation (Australia), Rallye Label (Japan)
years active	2006 - present
website	Official WebsiteMyspace
Current members	Simon JonesWill MagnusAlex KorttAndrew Kerridge }}

The Holidays are an Australian indie pop band. Formed in Sydney in 2006, the band consists of Simon Jones, Will Magnus, Alex Kortt and Andrew Kerridge. The band often has additional musicians, including percussionists for their live shows.

Biography

Emerging in late 2006, The Holidays quickly established themselves in the Sydney music scene as an upbeat, energetic addition. Within their first year as a band together, The Holidays toured with Jamie T, with The View, with Ben Kweller, and recorded an EP of demos which quickly sold out at gigs and received regular airplay on radio stations both in Australia and in the USA. In November 2007, The Holidays were featured on the Next Crop segment of national youth radio station Triple J.

The Holidays announced their signing with independent Australian record label Liberation Music in early 2008.

The Holidays released their debut EP on 19 April 2008 to positive reviews, which was followed by a substantial national tour to promote the release.

They released their second EP "When The Ship Goes Down" in October 2008, which showed the band's natural progression with song-writing. Recorded with Wayne Connolly of The Vines and Josh Pyke fame, this EP was followed by a 20 date national tour, co-headlining with Brisbane band Yves Klein Blue.

Originally a classic guitar rock band recalling influences such as Teenage Fanclub and Television, The Holidays took some time off after the release of their second EP to work on their debut album.

"Moonlight Hours", the first single from their debut album was taken to radio in November 2009, and added to high rotation on national youth radio station Triple J. "Golden Sky" was the second single from The Holidays debut album, released in May 2010, which was followed by an east coast tour of Australia to promote the release. There is a music video for both these singles, made by Melbourne company Moop Jaw.

The Holidays debut album, entitled "Post Paradise" was released in Australia on 24 September 2010, in conjunction with third single, Broken Bones, which was added to radio nationally. The album has received very positive reviews since its release, including "Album of the Week" in Drum Media, Beat Magazine, BMA Mag & The Brag, 4.5 stars in The Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph & The Courier Mail, as well as positive reviews in The Age & The Sydney Morning Herald. Post Paradise won The Age Readers Choice Best Album of 2010, and was the Triple J Feature Album for the week commencing 26 December 2010. Post Paradise was shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize and won the Red Bull Award for Best Debut Album.

The Holidays current live show incorporates a fifth touring member, David Zucker as percussionist, as well occasional backing vocalist Evelyn Duprai.

Members

Simon Jones - Vocals, Guitar, Keys, Production

Will Magnus - Lead Guitar, Keys

Alex Kortt - Bass Guitar

Andrew Kerridge - Drums, Percussion

Touring

Toured with Jamie T in May 2007

Toured with The View in June 2007

Toured with Ben Kweller in October 2007

Played nationally at the 2008 St Jerome's Laneway Festival

Toured with The Wombats in March 2008

Toured with Lightspeed Champion in July 2008

Played at Homebake 2008

Played at Falls Festival 2008

Toured with Bluejuice in April 2010

Played at St Jerome's Laneway Festival 2011 across Australia

Played at SXSW in Austin, Texas in March 2011

Played at the Groovin' the Moo Festival across Australia in May 2011

Toured with Cut Copy in Australia in May 2011

Played at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, and Dot to Dot Festival across the UK in May 2011

Are playing at Splendour In The Grass in 2011.

Discography

The Holidays EP (release date 19 April 2008)

When The Ship Goes Down EP (release date 11 October 2008)

Golden Sky EP (released May 2010 Australia & August 2010 UK)

Debut Album Post Paradise (released 24 September 2010 Australia & January 2011 Japan)

Further information

The Holidays song 'Telephone' was featured on an Australian television advertising campaign for Clearasil in late 2007.

The Holidays song 'Golden Sky' was used in the Channel 7 summer 2010/2011 advertising campaign.

Simon Jones collaborated & sung vocals with Australian dance duo Bag Raiders on the track 'Not Over' from their eponymous debut album.

References

Category:Australian indie pop groups

Name	Charles Barkley
Width	260px
Position	Power forward / Small forward
Number	34, 32, 14, 4
Height ft	6|height_in6
Weight lbs	252
Birth date	February 20, 1963
Birth place	Leeds, Alabama
High school	Leeds HS (Leeds, Alabama)
Career start	1984
Career end	2000
Draftyear	1984
Draftround	1
Draftpick	5
Draftteam	Philadelphia 76ers
College	Auburn (1981–1984)
Years1	– |team1 Philadelphia 76ers
Years2	– |team2 Phoenix Suns
Years3	– |team3 Houston Rockets
Stat1label	Points
Stat1value	23,757 (22.1 ppg)
Stat2label	Rebounds
Stat2value	12,546 (11.7 rpg)
Stat3label	Assists
Stat3value	4,215 (3.9 apg)
Letter	b
Bbr	barklch01
Highlights	NBA Most Valuable Player () 11× NBA All-Star (–) 5× All-NBA First Team (–, ) 5× All-NBA Second Team (–, , –) All-NBA Third Team () NBA All-Rookie First Team () NBA All-Star Game MVP () NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team #34 Retired by Philadelphia 76ers / Phoenix Suns SEC Player of the Year (1984)
Hof player	charles-barkley }}

Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is a former American professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's (NBA's) most dominating power forwards. He was selected to the All-NBA First Team five times, the All-NBA Second Team five times, and once to the All-NBA Third Team. He earned eleven NBA All-Star Game appearances and was named the All-Star MVP in 1991. In 1993, he was voted the league's Most Valuable Player and during the NBA's 50th anniversary, named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic games and won two gold medals as a member of the United States' Dream Team. In 2006, Barkley was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Barkley was popular with the fans and media and made the NBA's All-Interview Team for his last 13 seasons in the league. He was frequently involved in on- and off-court fights and sometimes stirred national controversy, as in March 1991 when he mistakenly spat on a young girl, and as in 1993 when he declared that sports figures should not be considered role models. Short for a power forward, Barkley used his strength and aggressiveness to become one of the NBA's most dominant rebounders. He was a versatile player who had the ability to score, create plays, and defend. In 2000, he retired as the fourth player in NBA history to achieve 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists.

Since retiring as a player, Barkley has had a successful career as a color commentator on basketball. He works with Turner Network Television (TNT) as a studio pundit for its coverage of NBA games. In addition, Barkley has written several books and has shown an interest in politics; in October 2008, he announced that he would run for Governor of Alabama in 2014, but he changed his mind in 2010.

Early life

Barkley was born and raised in suburban Leeds, Alabama, ten miles (16 km) outside of Birmingham, and attended Leeds High School. As a junior, Barkley stood 5'10" (1.78 m) and weighed 220 pounds (99.8 kg). He failed to make the varsity team and was named as a reserve. However, during the summer Barkley grew to 6'4" and earned a starting position on the varsity team in his senior year. He averaged 19.1 points and 17.9 rebounds per game and led his team to a 26–3 record en route to the state semifinals. Despite his improvement, Barkley garnered no attention from college scouts until the state high school semifinals, where he scored 26 points against Alabama's most highly recruited player, Bobby Lee Hurt. An assistant to Auburn University's head coach, Sonny Smith, was at the game and reported seeing, "a fat guy... who can play like the wind". Barkley was soon recruited by Smith and majored in business management while attending Auburn University.

College

Barkley played collegiate basketball at Auburn University for three years. Although he struggled to control his weight, he excelled as a player and led the SEC in rebounding each year. He became a popular crowd-pleaser, exciting the fans with dunks and blocked shots that belied his lack of height and overweight frame. It was not uncommon to see the hefty Barkley grab a defensive rebound and, instead of passing, dribble the entire length of the court and finish at the opposite end with a two-handed dunk. His physical size and skills ultimately earned him the nickname "The Round Mound of Rebound."

During his college career, Barkley played the center position, despite being shorter than the average center. His height, officially listed as , is stated as in his book, ''I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It''. He became a member of Auburn's All-Century team and still holds the Auburn record for career field goal percentage with 62.6%. He received numerous awards, including Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Year (1984), three All-SEC selections and one Second Team All-American selection. Later, Barkley was named the SEC Player of the Decade for the 1980s by the ''Birmingham Post-Herald''.

In Barkley's three-year college career, he averaged 14.8 points on 68.2% field goal shooting, 9.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.7 blocks per game. In 1984, he made his only appearance in the NCAA Tournament and finished with 23 points on 80% field goal shooting, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Auburn retired Barkley's No. 34 jersey on March 3, 2001.

Barkley later admitted to receiving money from an agent during his years at Auburn.

NBA career

Philadelphia 76ers

Barkley left before his final year at Auburn and made himself eligible for the 1984 NBA Draft. He was selected with the fifth pick in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers, two slots after the Chicago Bulls drafted Michael Jordan. He joined a veteran team that included Julius Erving, Moses Malone and Maurice Cheeks, players who took Philadelphia to the 1983 NBA championship. Under the tutelage of Malone, Barkley was able to manage his weight and learned to prepare and condition himself properly for a game. He averaged 14.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during the regular season and earned a berth on the All-Rookie Team. In the postseason, the Sixers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals but were defeated in five games by the Boston Celtics. As a rookie in the postseason, Barkley averaged 14.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

During his second year, Barkley became the team's leading rebounder and number two scorer, averaging 20.0 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. He became the Sixers' starting power forward and helped lead his team into the playoffs, averaging 25.0 points on .578 shooting from the field and 15.8 rebounds per game. Despite his efforts, Philadelphia was defeated 4–3 by the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team.

Before the 1986–87 season, Moses Malone was traded to the Washington Bullets and Barkley began to assume control as the team leader. He earned his first rebounding title, averaging 14.6 rebounds per game and also led the league in offensive rebounds with 5.7 per game. He averaged 23.0 points on .594 shooting, earning his first trip to an NBA All-Star game and All-NBA Second Team honors for the second straight season. In the playoffs, Barkley averaged 24.6 points and 12.6 rebounds in a losing effort, for the second straight year, to the Bucks in a five-game first round playoff series.

The following season, Julius Erving announced his retirement and Barkley became the Sixers' franchise player. Playing in 80 games and getting 300 more minutes than his nearest teammate, Barkley had his most productive season, averaging 28.3 points on .587 shooting and 11.9 rebounds per game. He appeared in his second All-Star Game and was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career. His celebrity status as the Sixers' franchise player led to his first appearance on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated''. For the first time since the 1974–75 season, however, the 76ers failed to make the playoffs. In the 1988–89 season, Barkley continued to play well, averaging 25.8 points on .579 shooting and 12.5 rebounds per game. He earned his third straight All-Star Game appearance and was named to the All-NBA First team for the second straight season. Despite Barkley contributing 27.0 points on .644 shooting, 11.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, the 76ers were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the New York Knicks.

During the 1989–90 season, despite receiving more first-place votes, Barkley finished second in MVP voting behind the Los Angeles Lakers' Magic Johnson. He was named Player of the Year by ''The Sporting News'' and ''Basketball Weekly''. He averaged 25.2 points and 11.5 rebounds per game and a career high .600 shooting. He was named to the All-NBA First Team for the third consecutive year and earned his fourth All-Star selection. He helped Philadelphia win 53 regular season games, only to lose to the Chicago Bulls in a five-game Eastern Conference Semifinals series. Barkley averaged 24.7 points and 15.5 rebounds in another postseason loss. His exceptional play continued into his seventh season, where he averaged 27.6 points on .570 shooting and 10.1 rebounds per game. His fifth straight All-Star Game appearance proved to be his best yet. He led the East to a 116–114 win over the West with 17 points and 22 rebounds, the most rebounds in an All-Star Game since Wilt Chamberlain recorded 22 in 1967. Barkley was presented with Most Valuable Player honors at the All-Star Game and, at the end of the season, named to the All-NBA First Team for the fourth straight year. In the postseason, Philadelphia lost again to Jordan's Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, with Barkley contributing 24.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

The 1991–92 season was Barkley's final year in Philadelphia. In his last season, he wore number 32 instead of his 34 to honor Magic Johnson, who had announced prior to the start of the season that he was HIV-positive. Although the 76ers initially retired the number 32 in honor of Billy Cunningham, it was unretired for Barkley to wear. Following Johnson's announcement, Barkley also apologized for having made light of his condition. Responding to concerns that players may contract HIV by contact with Johnson, Barkley stated, "We're just playing basketball. It's not like we're going out to have unprotected sex with Magic."

In his final season with the Sixers, averaging 23.1 points on .552 shooting and 11.1 rebounds per game, Barkley earned his sixth straight All-Star appearance and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, his seventh straight appearance on either the first or second team. He ended his 76ers career ranked fourth in team history in total points (14,184), third in scoring average (23.3 ppg), third in rebounds (7,079), eighth in assists (2,276) and second in field-goal percentage (.576). He led Philadelphia in rebounding and field-goal percentage for seven consecutive seasons and in scoring for six straight years. However, Barkley demanded a trade out of Philadelphia after the Sixers failed to make the postseason with a 35–47 record. On July 17, 1992, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang.

During Barkley's eight seasons in Philadelphia, he became a household name and was one of the few NBA players to have a figure published by Kenner's Starting Lineup toy line. He also had his own signature shoe line with Nike. His outspoken and aggressive play, however, also caused a few scandals; notoriously a fight with Detroit Pistons center Bill Laimbeer in 1990, an event which drew a record total $162,500 fine, and the infamous spitting incident.

Spitting incident

In March 1991, during an overtime game in New Jersey, a courtside heckler had been yelling racial epithets throughout the game at Barkley. Upset by the heckler's remarks, Barkley turned to spit at him, but, as he later described, did not "get enough foam", missed and mistakenly spat on a young girl. Rod Thorn, the NBA's president of operations at the time, suspended Barkley without pay and fined him $10,000 for spitting and using abusive language at the fan. It became a national story and Barkley was vilified for it. Barkley, however, eventually developed a friendship with the girl and her family. He apologized and, among other things, provided tickets to future games.

Upon retirement, Barkley was later quoted as stating, "I was fairly controversial, I guess, but I regret only one thing—the spitting incident. But you know what? It taught me a valuable lesson. It taught me that I was getting way too intense during the game. It let me know I wanted to win way too bad. I had to calm down. I wanted to win at all costs. Instead of playing the game the right way and respecting the game, I only thought about winning."

Phoenix Suns

The trade to Phoenix in the 1992–93 season went well for both Barkley and the Suns. He averaged 25.6 points on .520 shooting, 12.2 rebounds and a career high 5.1 assists per game, leading the Suns to an NBA best 62–20 record. For his efforts, Barkley won the league's Most Valuable Player Award, and was selected to play in his seventh straight All-Star Game. He became the third player ever to win league MVP honors in the season immediately after being traded, established multiple career highs and led Phoenix to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1976. Despite Barkley's proclamation to Jordan, that it was "destiny" for the Suns to win the title, they were defeated in six games by the Bulls. He averaged 26.6 points and 13.6 rebounds per game during the whole postseason, including 27.3 points, 13.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game throughout the championship series. In the fourth game of the Finals, Barkley recorded a triple-double after collecting 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

As a result of severe back pains, Barkley began to speculate his last year in Phoenix during the 1993–94 season. Playing through the worst injury problems of his career, Barkley managed 21.6 points on .495 shooting and 11.2 rebounds per game. He was selected to his eighth consecutive All-Star Game, but did not play because of a torn right quadriceps tendon, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. With Barkley fighting injuries, the Suns still managed a 56–26 record and made it to the Western Conference Semifinals. Despite holding a 2–0 lead in the series, however, the Suns lost in seven games to the eventual champion Houston Rockets. In the postseason, despite having a 3–1 lead in the series, the Suns once again lost to the defending champion Rockets in seven games. Barkley averaged 25.7 points on .500 shooting and 13.4 rebounds per game in the postseason, but was limited in Game 7 of the semifinals by a leg injury.

The 1995–96 season was Barkley's last on the Phoenix Suns. He led the team in scoring, rebounds and steals, averaging 23.3 points on .500 shooting, 11.6 rebounds and a career high .777 free throw shooting. He earned his tenth appearance in an All-Star Game as the top vote-getter among Western Conference players and posted his 18th career triple-double on November 22. He also became just the tenth player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in their career. In the postseason, Barkley averaged 25.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in a four-game first round playoff loss to the San Antonio Spurs. After the Suns closed out the season with a 41–41 record and a first-round playoff loss, Barkley was traded to Houston in exchange for Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant and Chucky Brown.

During his career with the Suns, Barkley excelled as a player, earning All-NBA and All-Star honors in each of his four seasons. The always outspoken Barkley, however, continued to stir up controversy during the 1993 season, when he claimed that sports figures should not be role models.

Role model controversy

Throughout his career, Barkley had been arguing that athletes should not be considered role models. He stated, "A million guys can dunk a basketball in jail; should they be role models?" In 1993, his argument prompted national news when he wrote the text for his "I am not a role model" Nike commercial. Dan Quayle, the former Vice President of the United States, called it a "family-values message" for Barkley's oft-ignored call for parents and teachers to quit looking to him to "raise your kids" and instead be role models themselves.

Barkley's message sparked a great public debate about the nature of role models. He argued,

I think the media demands that athletes be role models because there's some jealousy involved. It's as if they say, this is a young black kid playing a game for a living and making all this money, so we're going to make it tough on him. And what they're really doing is telling kids to look up to someone they can't become, because not many people can be like we are. Kids can't be like Michael Jordan.

Houston Rockets

The trade to the Houston Rockets in the 1996–97 season was Barkley's last chance at capturing an NBA championship title. He joined a veteran team that included two of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. To begin the season, Barkley was suspended for the season opener and fined $5,000 for fighting Charles Oakley during an October 25, 1996 preseason game. After Oakley committed a flagrant foul on Barkley, Barkley responded by shoving Oakley. In his first game with the Houston Rockets, Charles Barkley had a career-high thirty-three rebounds. He continued to battle injuries throughout the season and played only 53 games, missing fourteen because of a laceration and bruise on his left pelvis, eleven because of a sprained right ankle and four due to suspensions. He became the team's second leading scorer, averaging 19.2 points on .484 shooting; the first time since his rookie year that he averaged below 20 points per game. With Olajuwon taking most of the shots, Barkley focused primarily on rebounding, averaging 13.5 per game, the second best in his career. The Rockets ended the regular season with a 57–25 record and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they were defeated in six games by the Utah Jazz. Barkley averaged 17.9 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in another postseason loss.

The 1997–98 season was another injury-plagued year for Barkley. He averaged 15.2 points on .485 shooting and 11.7 rebounds per game. The Rockets ended the season with a 41–41 record and were eliminated in five games by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs. Limited by injuries, Barkley played four games and averaged career lows of 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game. During the league-lockout-shortened season, Barkley played 42 regular-season games and managed 16.1 points on .478 shooting and 12.3 rebounds per game. He became the second player in NBA history, following Wilt Chamberlain, to accumulate 23,000 points, 12,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists in his career. The Rockets concluded the shortened season with a 31–19 record and advanced to the playoffs. In his last postseason appearance, Barkley averaged 23.5 points on .529 shooting and 13.8 rebounds per game in a first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He concluded his postseason career averaging 23 points on .513 shooting, 12.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in 123 games.

The 1999–2000 season would be Barkley's final year in the NBA. Initially, Barkley averaged 14.5 points on .477 shooting and 10.5 rebounds per game. Along with Shaquille O'Neal, Barkley was ejected from the November 10, 1999 game against the Los Angeles Lakers. After O'Neal blocked a layup by Barkley, O'Neal shoved Barkley, who then threw the ball at O'Neal. Barkley's season and career seemingly ended prematurely at the age of 36 after rupturing his left quadriceps tendon on December 8, 1999 in Philadelphia, where his career began. Refusing to allow his injury to be the last image of his career, Barkley returned after four months for one final game. On April 19, 2000, in a home game against the Vancouver Grizzlies, Barkley scored a memorable basket on an offensive rebound and putback, a common trademark during his career. He accomplished what he set out to do after being activated from the injured list, and walked off the court to a standing ovation. He stated, "I can't explain what tonight meant. I did it for me. I've won and lost a lot of games, but the last memory I had was being carried off the court. I couldn't get over the mental block of being carried off the court. It was important psychologically to walk off the court on my own." After the basket, Barkley immediately retired and concluded his sixteen-year NBA Hall of Fame career.

Olympics

}} Barkley competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic games and won two gold medals as a member of the United States men's basketball team. International rules which had previously prevented NBA players from playing in the Olympics were changed in 1992, allowing Barkley and fellow NBA players to compete in the Olympics for the first time. The result was the legendary Dream Team, which went 6–0 in the Olympic qualifying tournament and 8–0 against Olympic opponents. The team averaged an Olympic record 117.3 points a game and won games by an average of 43.8 points. Barkley led the team with 18.0 points on 71.1% field goal shooting and set a then-Olympic single game scoring record with 30 points in a 127–83 victory over Brazil. He also set a U.S. Men's Olympic record for highest three point field goal percentage with 87.5% and added 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game. Barkley was also part of an ugly moment in the 1992 Olympics when he intentionally elbowed Angola player Herlander Coimbra in the chest during a 116–48 rout of that team.

At the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games, Barkley led the team in scoring, rebounds, and field goal percentage. He averaged 12.4 points on 81.6% field goal shooting, setting a U.S. Men's Olympic record. In addition, he also contributed 6.6 rebounds per game. Under Barkley's leadership, the team once again compiled a perfect 8–0 record and captured gold medal honors.

Player profile

Barkley played the power forward position but on some occasions he would play the small forward and center positions. He was known for his unusual build as a basketball player, stockier than most small forwards, yet shorter than most power forwards he faced. However, Barkley was still capable of outplaying both taller and quicker opponents because of his strength and agility.

Barkley was a prolific scorer who averaged 22.1 points-per-game for his season career and 23.0 points-per-game for his playoff career. He was one of the NBA's most versatile players and accurate scorers capable of scoring from anywhere on the court and established himself as one of the NBA's premier clutch players. During his NBA career, Barkley was a constant mismatch because he possessed a set of very uncommon skills and could play in a variety of positions. He would use all facets of his game in a single play; as a scorer, he had the ability to score from the perimeter and the post, using an array of spin moves and fadeaways, or finishing a fast break with a powerful dunk. He was one of the most efficient scorers of all-time, scoring at 54.13% total field goal percentage for his season career and 51.34% total field goal shooting for his playoff career (including a career-high season average of 60% during the 1989–90 NBA season).

Frequently listed as 6 feet 6 inches, but measuring slightly under 6 feet 5 inches (1.95 mt), Barkley is the shortest player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounding when he averaged a career high 14.6 rebounds per game during the 1986–87 season. His tenacious and aggressive form of play built into an undersized frame that fluctuated between and helped cement his legacy as one of the greatest rebounders in NBA history, averaging 11.7 rebounds per game in the regular season for his career and 12.9 rebounds per game in his playoff career and totaling 12,546 rebounds for his season career. Barkley topped the NBA in offensive rebounding for three straight years and was most famous among very few power forwards who could control a defensive rebound, dribble the length of the court and finish at the rim with a powerful dunk.

Barkley also possessed considerable defensive talents led by an aggressive demeanor, foot speed and his capacity to read the floor to anticipate for steals, a reason why he established his career as the second All-Time leader in steals for the power forward position and leader of the highest all-time steal per game average for the power forward position. Despite being undersized for both the small forward and power forward positions, he also finished among the all-time leaders in blocked shots. His speed and leaping ability made him one of the few power forwards capable of running down court to block a faster player with a chase-down block.

In a SLAM magazine issue ranking NBA greats, Barkley was ranked among the top 20 players of All-Time. In the magazine, NBA Hall-of-Famer Bill Walton commented on Barkley's ability. Walton stated, "Barkley is like Magic [Johnson] and Larry [Bird] in that they don't really play a position. He plays everything; he plays basketball. There is nobody who does what Barkley does. He's a dominant rebounder, a dominant defensive player, a three-point shooter, a dribbler, a playmaker."

Legacy

During his 16-year NBA career, Barkley was regarded as one of the most controversial, outspoken and dominating players in the history of basketball. His impact on the sport went beyond his rebounding titles, assists, scoring and physical play. His larger than life persona and confrontational mannerisms often led to technical fouls and fines and sometimes gave rise to national controversy, such as when he was featured in ads that rejected pro athletes as role models and declared, "I am not a role model." Although his words often led to controversy, according to Barkley his mouth was never the cause because it always spoke the truth. He stated, "I don't create controversies. They're there long before I open my mouth. I just bring them to your attention."

Besides his on-court fights with other players, he has exhibited confrontational behavior off-court. He was arrested for breaking a man's nose during a fight after a game with the Milwaukee Bucks and also for throwing a man through a plate-glass window after being struck with a glass of ice. Notwithstanding these occurrences, Barkley continued to remain popular with the fans and media because of his sense of humor and honesty.

As a player, Barkley was a perennial All-Star who earned league MVP honors in 1993. He employed a physical style of play that earned him the nicknames "Sir Charles" and "The Round Mound of Rebound". He was named to the All-NBA team eleven times and earned two gold medals as a member of the United States Olympic Basketball team. He led both teams in scoring and was instrumental in helping the 1992 "Dream Team" and 1996 Men's Basketball team compile a perfect 16–0 record. He retired as one of only four players in NBA history to record at least 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists in their career, although a fifth player, Kevin Garnett, has since accomplished that feat.

In recognition of his collegiate and NBA achievements, Barkley's number 34 jersey was officially retired by Auburn University on March 3, 2001. In the same month, the Philadelphia 76ers also officially retired Barkley's jersey. On 20 March 2004, the Phoenix Suns honored Barkley as well by retiring his jersey and including him in the "Suns Ring of Honor". In recognition of his achievements as a player, Barkley was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

NBA Career statistics

Averages

|- | align="left" | 1984-85 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 82 || 60 || 28.6 || .545 || .167 || .733 || 8.6 || 1.9 || 1.2 || 1.0 || 14.0 |- | align="left" | 1985–86 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 80 || 80 || 36.9 || .572 || .227 || .685 || 12.8 || 3.9 || 2.2 || 1.6 || 20.0 |- | align="left" | 1986–87 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 68 || 62 || 40.3 || .594 || .202 || .761 || 14.6 || 4.9 || 1.8 || 1.5 ||23.0 |- | align="left" | 1987–88 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 80 || 80 || 39.6 || .587 || .280 || .751 || 11.9 || 3.2 || 1.3 || 1.3 || 28.3 |- | align="left" | 1988–89 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 79 || 79 || 39.1 || .579 || .216 || .753 || 12.5 || 4.1 || 1.6 || .9 || 25.8 |- | align="left" | 1989–90 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 79 || 79 || 39.1 || .600 || .217 || .749 || 11.5 || 3.9 || 1.9 || .6 || 25.2 |- | align="left" | 1990–91 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 67 || 67 || 37.3 || .570 || .284 || .722 || 10.1 || 4.2 || 1.6 || .5 || 27.6 |- | align="left" | 1991–92 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 75 || 75 || 38.4 || .552 || .234 || .695 || 11.1 || 4.1 || 1.8 || .6 || 23.1 |- | align="left" | 1992–93 | align="left" | Phoenix | 76 || 76 || 37.6 || .520 || .305 || .765 || 12.2 || 5.1 || 1.6 || 1.0 || 25.6 |- | align="left" | 1993–94 | align="left" | Phoenix | 65 || 65 || 35.4 || .495 || .270 || .704 || 11.2 || 4.6 || 1.6 || .6 || 21.6 |- | align="left" | 1994–95 | align="left" | Phoenix | 68 || 68 || 35.0 || .486 || .338 || .748 || 11.1 || 4.1 || 1.6 || .7 || 23.0 |- | align="left" | 1995–96 | align="left" | Phoenix | 71 || 71 || 37.1 || .500 || .280 || .777 || 11.6 || 3.7 || 1.6 || .8 || 23.2 |- | align="left" | 1996–97 | align="left" | Houston | 53 || 53 || 37.9 || .484 || .283 || .694 || 13.5 || 4.7 || 1.3 || .5 || 19.2 |- | align="left" | 1997–98 | align="left" | Houston | 68 || 41 || 33.0 || .485 || .214 || .746 || 11.7 || 3.2 || 1.0 || .4 || 15.2 |- | align="left" | 1998–99 | align="left" | Houston | 42 || 40 || 36.3 || .478 || .160 || .719 || 12.3 || 4.6 || 1.0 || .3 || 16.1 |- | align="left" | 1999–00 | align="left" | Houston | 20 || 18 || 31.0 || .477 || .231 || .645 || 10.5 || 3.2 || .7 || .2 || 14.5 |- |- class="unsortable" | align="left" colspan=2| Career | 1,073 || 1,012 || 36.7 || .541 || .266 || .735 || 11.7 || 3.9 || 1.5 || .8 || 22.1 |- |- class="unsortable" | align="left" colspan=2| Playoffs | 123 || || 39.4 || .513 || .255 || .717 || 12.9 || 3.9 || 1.6 || .9 || 23.0 |- |- class="unsortable" | align="left" colspan=2| All-Star | 9 || 7 || 23.2 || .495 || .250 || .625 || 6.7 || 1.8 || 1.3 || .4 || 12.6

Career highs

! Stat	! High	! Team	! Opponent	! Date
Points	47	Philadelphia 76ers	at Atlanta Hawks
Points (Playoffs)	56	Phoenix Suns	at Golden State Warriors
Field goals made, none missed	10—10	Philadelphia 76ers	vs. San Antonio Spurs
Field goals made (Playoffs)	23	Phoenix Suns	at Golden State Warriors
Field goal attempts (Playoffs)	31	Phoenix Suns	at Golden State Warriors
Free throws made, none missed	15—15	Philadelphia 76ers	vs. Golden State Warriors
Free throws made	22	Phoenix Suns	vs. Washington Bullets
Free throw attempts	27	Phoenix Suns	vs. Washington Bullets
Three-point field goals made, none missed	6—6	Philadelphia 76ers	at Miami Heat
Three-point field goal attempts	11	Houston Rockets	at Toronto Raptors
Rebounds	33	Houston Rockets	at Phoenix Suns
Offensive rebounds	16	Philadelphia 76ers	vs. New York Knicks
	16	Philadelphia 76ers	vs. Denver Nuggets
Defensive rebounds	25	Houston Rockets	at Phoenix Suns
Assists	14	Philadelphia 76ers	at Indiana Pacers
Steals (Playoffs)	7	Phoenix Suns	vs. San Antonio Spurs
Steals	7	Philadelphia 76ers	at New York Knicks
	7	Philadelphia 76ers	vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
	7	Phoenix Suns	at Milwaukee Bucks
Blocked shots	7	Philadelphia 76ers	vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Turnovers
Minutes played	58	Houston Rockets	vs. Los Angeles Lakers

NBA records

Regular season

Three-point field goals made, none missed, game: 6—6, Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat, Broken by Terry Porter on

Offensive rebounds, half: 13, Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks,

Offensive rebounds, quarter: 11, Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks, tied with Larry Smith (Golden State Warriors vs. Denver Nuggets, )

Playoffs

Free throws made, half: 19, Phoenix Suns vs. Seattle SuperSonics,

Free throw attempts, 7-game series: 100, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 1986 Eastern Conference Semifinals

Free throw attempts, half: 17, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Chicago Bulls, Broken by Earvin "Magic" Johnson on Barkley later had a game with 20 free throw attempts in a half, on , but it was not a record at the time.

Free throw attempts, quarter: 13, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Chicago Bulls, Broken by Michael Jordan on

Defensive rebounds, one postseason: 233, Phoenix Suns, 1993

Broken by Shaquille O'Neal in 2000

Turnovers, 7-game series: 37, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 1986 Eastern Conference Semifinals

All-Star Game

Defensive rebounds, game: 14 (1991)

Broken by Dikembe Mutombo in 2001

Ranks 2nd in NBA history

Regular season

Defensive rebounds, quarter: 12, Houston Rockets at Philadelphia 76ers,

Turnovers, quarter: 6, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Sacramento Kings,

Playoffs

Points, half: 38, first half, Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors,

Points, quarter: 27, first quarter, Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors,

Field goals made, game: 23, Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors,

Field goals made, half: 15, first half, Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors,

Field goals made, quarter: 11, first quarter, Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors,

Offensive rebounds, 5-game series: 35, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Chicago Bulls, 1990 Eastern Conference Semifinals

Turnovers, 5-game series: 28, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Bullets, 1986 Eastern Conference First Round

All-Star

Offensive rebounds, game: 8 (1991)

Ranks 3rd in NBA history

Regular season

Seasons leading the league in offensive rebounds: 3 (Philadelphia 76ers, —)

Trailing Moses Malone and Dennis Rodman

Consecutive seasons leading the league in offensive rebounds: 3 (Philadelphia 76ers, —)

Trailing Moses Malone and Dennis Rodman

Highest average, offensive rebounds per game, career: 4.0 (4,260/1,073)

Trailing Moses Malone and Dennis Rodman

Steals by a forward, career: 1,648

Trailing Scottie Pippen and Karl Malone

Playoffs

Points, game: 56, Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors,

Steals, game: 7, Phoenix Suns vs. San Antonio Spurs,

Turnovers, game: 9, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Milwaukee Bucks,

Ranks 4th in NBA history

Regular season

Defensive rebounds, game: 25, Houston Rockets at Phoenix Suns,

Playoffs

Highest average, offensive rebounds per game, career: 4.1 (510/123)

Offensive rebounds, 4-game series: 24, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Bullets, 1985 Eastern Conference First Round

Steals, game: 6, Philadelphia 76ers at Milwaukee Bucks,

Barkley's career total (4,260) and career high (16) for offensive rebounds both rank fifth in NBA history His career high for defensive rebounds (25) also ranks fifth in NBA history

Post-basketball life

Turner Network Television (TNT)

Since 2000, Barkley has served as a studio analyst for Turner Network Television (TNT). He appears on the network's NBA coverage during pre-game and halftime shows, in addition to special NBA events. He also appears on an original program for the network entitled ''Inside the NBA'', a post-game show during which Barkley, Ernie Johnson Jr. and Kenny Smith recap and comment on NBA games that have occurred during the day and also on general NBA affairs.

During the broadcast of a game, in which Barkley was courtside with Marv Albert, Barkley poked fun at NBA official Dick Bavetta's age. Albert replied to Barkley, "I believe Dick would beat you in a footrace." In response to that remark, Barkley went on to challenge Bavetta to a race at the 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend for $5,000. The winner was to choose a charity to which the money would be donated. The NBA agreed to pitch in an additional $50,000, and TNT threw in $25,000. The pair raced for three and a half lengths of the basketball court until Barkley ultimately won. After the event, the two embraced in a show of good sportsmanship.

Gambling

Barkley is known for his compulsive gambling. In an interview with ESPN's Trey Wingo, Barkley revealed that he lost approximately $10 million through gambling. In addition, he also admitted to losing $2.5 million, "in a six-hour period", while playing blackjack. Although Barkley openly admits to his problem, he claims it is not serious since he can afford to support the habit. When approached by fellow TNT broadcaster Ernie Johnson about the issue, Barkley replied, "It's not a problem. If you're a drug addict or an alcoholic, those are problems. I gamble for too much money. As long as I can continue to do it I don't think it's a problem. Do I think it's a bad habit? Yes, I think it's a bad habit. Am I going to continue to do it? Yes, I'm going to continue to do it."

Despite suffering big losses, Barkley also claims to have won on several occasions. During a trip to Las Vegas, he claims to have won $700,000 from playing blackjack and betting on the Indianapolis Colts to defeat the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. He went on to state, however, "No matter how much I win it ain't a lot. It's only a lot when I lose. And you always lose. I think it's fun, I think it's exciting. I'm gonna continue to do it but I have to get to a point where I don't try to break the casino 'cause you never can."

In May 2008, the Wynn Las Vegas casino filed a civil complaint against Barkley, alleging that he had failed to pay a $400,000 debt stemming from October 2007. Barkley responded by taking blame for letting time lapse on the repayment of the debt and promptly paid the casino. After repaying his debt, Barkley stated during a pregame show on TNT, "I've got to stop gambling...I am not going to gamble anymore. For right now, the next year or two, I'm not going to gamble... Just because I can afford to lose money doesn't mean I should do it."

Politics

Barkley spoke for many years of his Republican Party affiliation. In 1995, he considered running as a Republican candidate for Alabama's governorship in the 1998 election. However, in 2006, he altered his political stance. At a July 2006 meeting of the Southern Regional Conference of the National School Boards Association in Destin, Florida, Barkley lent credence to the idea of running for Governor of Alabama, stating:

I'm serious. I've got to get people to realize that the government is full of it. Republicans and Democrats want to argue over stuff that's not important, like gay marriage or the war in Iraq or illegal immigration... When I run — if I run — we're going to talk about real issues like improving our schools, cleaning up our neighborhoods of drugs and crime and making Alabama a better place for all people.

In September 2006, Barkley once again reiterated his desire to run for Governor. He noted, "I can't run until 2014 ... I have to live there for seven years, so I'm looking for a house there as we speak." In July 2007, he made a video declaring his support for Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential election. In September 2007, during a broadcast on Monday Night Football, Barkley announced that he bought a house in Alabama to satisfy residency requirements for a 2014 campaign for governor. In addition, Barkley declared himself an Independent and not a Democrat as previously reported. "The Republicans are full of it," Barkley said, "The Democrats are a little less full of it."

In February 2008, Barkley announced that he would be running for Governor of Alabama in 2014 as an Independent. On October 27, 2008, he officially announced his candidacy for Governor of Alabama in an interview with CNN, stating that he planned to run in the 2014 election cycle, but he began to back off the idea in a November 24, 2009 interview on ''The Jay Leno Show''. In 2010, he confirmed that he was not running in 2014.

Barkley is an outspoken supporter of gay rights. In 2006, he told Fox Sports: "I'm a big advocate of gay marriage. If they want to get married, God bless them." Speaking to Wolf Blitzer on CNN two years later, he said: "Every time I hear the word 'conservative,' it makes me sick to my stomach, because they're really just fake Christians, as I call them. That's all they are. ... I think they want to be judge and jury. Like, I'm for gay marriage. It's none of my business if gay people want to get married. I'm pro-choice. And I think these Christians, first of all, they're not supposed to judge other people. But they're the most hypocritical judge of people we have in the country. And it bugs the hell out of me. They act like they're Christians. They're not forgiving at all." During a 2011 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day double-header on TNT, Barkley responded to a statement by Dr. King's daughter Bernice by saying, "People try to make it about black and white. [But] he talked about equality for every man, every woman. We have a thing going on now, people discriminating against homosexuality in this country. I love the homosexuality people. God bless the gay people. They are great people."

Books

In 2000, Barkley wrote the foreword for ''Sports Illustrated'' columnist Rick Reilly's book ''The Life of Reilly.'' In it, Barkley quipped, "Of all the people in sports I'd like to throw through a plate glass window, Reilly's not one of them. It's a shame though, skinny white boys look ''real'' aerodynamic." In 2002, Barkley released the book ''I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It'', which included editing and commentary by close friend Michael Wilbon. Three years later, Barkley released ''Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man?,'' which is a collection of interviews with leading figures in entertainment, business, sports, and government. Michael Wilbon also contributed to this book and was present at many of the interviews.

DUI conviction

On December 31, 2008, Barkley was pulled over in Scottsdale, Arizona, for initially running a stop sign. Officers smelled alcohol on Barkley's breath and proceeded to administer field sobriety tests, which he failed. He was arrested on drunk driving charges and had his vehicle impounded. Barkley refused to submit a breath test and was given a blood test. He was then cited and released. Gilbert police noted Barkley was cooperative and respectful during the entire incident, adding that he was treated no differently than anyone arrested on DUI charges. The police report of the incident stated that Barkley told police he was in a hurry to receive oral sex from his female passenger when he ran through a stop sign early Wednesday. Test results released by police showed that Barkley had a blood-alcohol level at .149, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 in Arizona. Two months after his arrest, Barkley pleaded guilty to two DUI-related counts and one count of running a red light. He was sentenced to ten days in jail and fined $2,000. The sentence was later reduced to three days after Barkley entered an alcohol treatment program.

As part of the fallout of his arrest, Barkley took a two-month hiatus from his commentating duties for TNT. During his absence, T-Mobile elected not to air previously scheduled ads that featured Barkley, stating, "Given the recent developments, for the time being, we've replaced TV ads featuring Mr. Barkley with more general-market advertising." On February 19, 2009, Barkley returned to TNT and spent the first segment of the NBA pregame show discussing the incident and his experiences. Shortly after his return, T-Mobile once again began airing ads featuring Barkley.

The Haney Project

Barkley is well known for his fondness of golf. However, his swing is often regarded as one of the most bizarre and broken swings in the sport. Barkley's swing unravels after he brings his club back. He starts to take it forward then jerks to a stop, throwing his body off balance, before wildly striking at the ball. Once a 10-handicap golfer who could break 80, Barkley can no longer break 100 and finished last at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship in July 2008.

A reality series known as "The Haney Project" premiered on The Golf Channel starring Charles Barkley and Hank Haney, one of the world's top golf instructors. The show centers on Hank Haney attempting to use his renowned expertise and teaching methods to fix Barkley's swing. Haney believes he can help Barkley lower his handicap and notes that Barkley's short game is strong and that his putting is even stronger.

Personal life

Barkley married Maureen Blumhardt in 1989. The two have a daughter together, Christiana.

See also

List of members of the Basketball Hall of Fame

List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders

List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff rebounding leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders

''Barkley Shut Up and Jam!''

''Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden''

Godzilla vs. Charles Barkley

''Space Jam''

References

Bibliography

External links

Charles Barkley: Official Website

Charles Barkley: NBA.com Historical Biography

Charles Barkley article, Encyclopedia of Alabama

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