The Round Mound of Rebound was no myth; it was Charles Barkley rewriting gravity in real time. Carrying at least 25 extra pounds, he dominated boards in the 80s. Yet his rise felt far from smooth. Along the way, Moses Malone and Julius Erving stepped in, guiding and transforming a raw talent into a Hall of Famer.

Chuck spoke with Tim McCormick on Hail Media and shared the impact both Dr. J and Malone had on his basketball journey. He said, “I obviously owe Moses the most because Moses is the most important person in my basketball career.” Barkley added, “When I got drafted, I played about 295 pounds in college, and I had great success in college in three years, but you cannot play at 295 in the NBA.”

At Auburn, Charles Barkley spent three seasons dominating for the Tigers. Although weight control troubled him, he still led the SEC in rebounding every year. Meanwhile, fans loved the chaos. He blocked shots, soared for dunks, often grabbed a board, and ran coast to coast. For the audience, it was a rare sight to see an overweight player do what Chuck did. However, 295 pounds raised serious concerns for the NBA.

So, during one occasion, Barkley asked his then teammate at the Philadelphia 76ers, Malone, if he could see him. “We happened to live in the same building. And I said, ‘Moses, why am I not getting to play?’ He says, ‘Well, because you are fat and you are lazy.’ And Tim, after, I stopped crying because it hurt me, it hurt.”

Seeing young Charles cry, Malone said, “Son, you cannot play. You had success in college, but you cannot play at 295 in the NBA.” Then the true grind began. “He got me down to 250, which changed the entire dynamics number one of my basketball career, but obviously my life,” Barkley shared.

“For this guy to take me under his wing and help me lose 50 pounds. He worked out with me every day before practice after practice and got me down to 250, which, when I did it, changed my whole life. But he and Doc and I do not want to leave out Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks, and Andrew Toney,” Charles Barkley made sure to also thank other inspirational figures.

Charles Barkley also highlights how veteran presence once shaped the NBA. Back then, teams were filled with older, experienced players around 35, whom younger players jokingly called uncle and grandpa. However, those veterans passed down discipline, professionalism, and life lessons, something Barkley feels is missing today with younger rosters entering the league early.

Charles Barkley’s concerns about the younger generation

“Those guys taught us how to be professional. They taught me how to dress. And I think that is one of the things I worry about with some of these young kids today who come into the NBA after 6 months of college,” Barkley shared with Tim McCormick. Do the new players have any veteran leadership to teach them how to save their money?

“Because 80% of professional athletes go broke. They need to learn how to save their money because they are making a lot more money now,” Charles Barkley shared his observation.

“They did not learn how to dress a certain way, and now stay off social media because social media is the devil. And I hope that they get older mentors to teach them how to be professional because it is different now, man. This social media thing, all this money it brings a lot of things into play that are dangerous.”

You don’t find mentors like Dr. J and Moses Malone these days. Simply put, which veteran star would work out before and after practice to help someone lose weight? Usually, you won’t find such stories in this new generation of basketball. Therefore, when Malone passed away in 2015, an emotional Charles Barkley had lots to say about the true legend.

“He never said anything about what he did for me. Most guys, when they mentor a young player like that, they go around saying, ‘Yeah, that was me. I did that.’ Not Moses,” Chuck told ESPN. He never told anybody. And that was the best part…I’m honored to have known the real man, not the one people supposed he was. When he got into the gym with his teammates, he was one of the best guys in the world.”

Sometimes you do get lucky in your journey. Charles Barkley found it when he found a mentor in Moses Malone. Little did the young boy from Auburn know then that his life was going to change forever. He walked into the NBA as an overweight kid, but Malone made sure, through his mentorship, that Chuck fit in. And he did.