Charles Barkley will always appreciate the people for the NBA we know today. We wouldn’t see that epic matchup between The Round Mound of Rebound and his strongest opponent in the 1993 Finals if the NBA wasn’t broadcast live. When he and Michael Jordan entered the league, NBA players and NBA viewing weren’t lucrative. It was two other icons of the game, who won 8 combined titles in the 80s, who made it that way and Barkley remains grateful to them.

“The two most important people in NBA history are Magic Johnson and Larry Bird,” he said on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “Those guys saved the NBA.” He went on to say, “Magic Johnson, Larry Bird changed the whole thing, and every time I see Magic and Bird, I tell them, ‘thank you, man.'”

Barkley dove into a little NBA history when it wasn’t the main job of most athletes. He said that when he entered the NBA, the average salary was $250,000. Both he and Jordan were selected in 1984 when the salary cap was $300,000. The salary cap, as always, has been proportionate to how much income the franchises are getting, and TV revenue is a major part of it.

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In the past, Barkley acknowledged that Jordan made the game global. But he said it wasn’t easy for people like him and MJ to come into the NBA and earn money as easily as people think.

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The rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird was thrilling enough to attract viewers. It brought the NBA from the tape-delay era to live broadcasts. Then Michael Jordan came into the scene and everyone wanted to watch him play. When he was leading the Chicago Bulls to the Finals in 1991, NBA TV rights were a hot commodity.

MJ made the NBA Primetime and global. Realizing his worth, he renegotiated his rookie contract to earn one of the highest salaries in NBA history. Until then, Magic was the highest-earning NBA pro. By 1991, the salary cap was at $12 million. By then, Chuck’s annual salary was almost $2.9 million. He drew his highest salary, $9 million, at the end of his career. However, that wouldn’t have been possible if Magic and Bird hadn’t enabled the NBA to earn through broadcasts and sponsorships.

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Barkley said on Smith’s show that the current class of players “are so lucky and blessed” that they get to earn millions playing basketball. As blunt as Chuck is, he’s not off the mark on this one.

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