Charles Barkley is now known more for his antics and back and forth with Shaquille O?Neal and the rest of the crew on the ?Inside The NBA? show. However, he does not get enough credit for his playing career in the league. Before Dennis Rodman became the king of rebounding, you could say Charles Barkley did that before Rodman did. The only difference was Rodman solely focused on rebounding and defense, whereas Barkley took the team?s offensive load as well.

The 11-time All-Star, Barkley, gave some insight into how professional athletes die two deaths while talking to Taylor Rooks on Bleacher Report.

The two deaths endured by athletes

While talking to Rooks on the Bleacher Report?s YouTube Channel, Barkley mentioned how professional athletes tend to die two deaths. The second one is the obvious one, but the first one is when players retire from their respective sports.

Barkley in the interview expressed, ?It?s something you?ve done since you?re probably 12 years old. I mean, you?ve been a basketball player. I probably started at 15, 16 (years old) somewhere. Now I think I was 38 when I retired and then you don?t play basketball anymore.?

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?That?s why it?s like death. Because let me tell you something. All these fools, like once you come to the rec center and play, you want me to come and play against a bunch of electricians and plumbers and I used to play against Karl Malone and Michael Jordan. That won?t do nothing for me,? Barkley added while describing what he meant by the first of two deaths.

Barkley went on to describe the feeling that after playing against such greats, that too on a professional level, it wasn?t alluring to him to play basketball against normal people. And rightfully so.

He played and competed on the highest level, so for him to play against non-professional athletes wasn?t challenging enough. And for those who need a history revision on how good ?Sir Charles? was, here are some facts.

Barkley won MVP when Michael Jordan was in his prime

Being a 6?6 power forward, Barkley averaged a double-double throughout his career, grabbing double-digit rebounds every year after his rookie season. Barkley won the MVP award during Michael Jordan?s prime. That speaks volumes in itself.

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He was relentless not just on the boards, but in almost every aspect of his game. Barkley had no problem getting off the floor. Not hang time per see, but he was like a pogo stick, someone who could jump really high without a running start.

Unfortunately, Charles Barkley will go down as one of the most underrated players in NBA history.