Charles Barkley believes that Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time, even if he jokes that MJ is overrated.
But in Tennessee at an event benefitting the Boys and Girls Club Tuesday, the Hall of Famer listed another great as the guy who was toughest for Barkley to take on personally. “He’s the best player I ever played against and had to guard,” Barkley said of former Boston Celtics power forward Kevin McHale.
McHale spent his entire career with the Cs from 1980 to 1993, Barkley’s career with the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets overlapped for several years during his own career from 1984-2000. McHale averaged 17.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game during his career and edged out a couple of other very well known names for the title of the toughest player to defend.
“I enjoyed playing against players like Larry Bird and Karl Malone because they were great,” Barkley said. “When you’re at this level, you’re better than 99% of the people in the world, so there’s a few guys you look at it and go, ‘That guy is just as good as me.’ So whenever you meet someone like that, it’s a big deal.
“When you go against guys like that, it’s special.”
