Over the course of their career, only a few sportsmen came to be known as legends. Like in all other sports and leagues, NBA too has few players, one sets apart from the rest. In a recent interview, retired NBA icon Charles Barkley spoke of different kinds of players in the league, sharing his opinion on the same.

Even though the 58-year-old has never won an NBA title himself, Barkley’s game has earned him the status of an NBA great. According to the now-NBA analyst, this era also has a few players who are stars, different from everyone else.

Who does Charles Barkley think is an NBA star?

While on The Steam Room podcast, Barkley and Ernie Johnson ended up speaking of NBA stars, who are ultimately not the same as ‘journeymen’ in the league. “No matter what sports you play, most players are journeymen. In NBA (Kevin) Durant, LeBron (James), Russell (Westbrook), James (Harden), Steph (Curry) – those guys are stars,” Barkley said.

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Now, while one can add a few names of their own, the players Barkley named are indeed icons. Even though all of them have not yet won a title, their presence on the court is usually unrivaled.

As per Barkley, the guys at the bottom don’t stick around for long. “The bottom guys on an NBA team, they’re only gonna play in the league (for) probably two or three years. Most of them”. 

Johnson and Barkley were speaking of golf professional Rob Labritz before listing the names, the two hosts proud of what he has achieved.

Why was Barkley impressed with Labritz?

Labritz, 50, recently made news for earning his PGA Tour Champions card for 2022.

He had been waiting for years for this opportunity, visibly overwhelmed on securing his spot. They discussed Labritz’s reaction as well, where he hugged his friends and called his wife while tearing up. Barkley was proud, extremely impressed at Labritz for not giving up.

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Barkley, who played in the NBA for 16 seasons, has managed to stay relevant even after his retirement.

He started playing with the Philadelphia 76ers, moving on to play for the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets for the remainder of his career. Now a successful analyst, Barkley always gains attention for constantly sharing his candid opinion on the NBA season and the players, current or otherwise.

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