Charles Barkley Reveals He Was Traded to Lakers Before Deal Fell Apart

Ricardo Klein | Feb 28, 2025

Sep 13, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers great Charles Barkley speaks at the podium during the unveiling of a statue honoring him in a ceremony at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

NBA Hall of Famer and legend Charles Barkley has made quite a name for himself even after his basketball career. 

Barkley is arguably more popular in his post-basketball career than in his basketball career. The 62-year-old has said so many outlandish things in his career as an analyst that there are too many to count. 

While that is the case, he never fails to entertain the audience, as was the case in his latest podcast episode with co-host Ernie Johnson, The Steam Room. 

In the latest episode, Barkley shared how he was almost dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers from the Philadelphia 76ers before they pulled off the trade. 

"I got traded to the Lakers," Barkley said. "True story. I get a call one morning from my agent: 'Hey, the Sixers finally pulled the trigger.' I got traded to the Lakers. And I'm like, 'damn, thank you, it's about time, can't wait.'

"So, I get my friends together ... and we get blasted. We get blasted, Ernie. ... About 3 a.m., my agent calls me: 'The Sixers pulled out the deal.'"

"I was so mad," Barkley said.

The time Charles Barkley was traded to the Lakers 😱

...And then untraded 😂 pic.twitter.com/VIySbFMojG

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 28, 2025

At the end of the video, Johnson mentioned how he had never heard Barkley tell that story. 

Barkley also never specified at what point in time this took place. 

The NBA Hall of Famer started his career with the 76ers in 1984 and played there for the first seven-plus seasons of his career. 

While the 76ers backed out of the Lakers trade, he was eventually traded to the Phoenix Suns in July 1992. Barkley played for three teams in his career: the 76ers, the Suns, and the Houston Rockets from 1996-2000. 

Barkley may receive a lot of slack in his broadcasting career, but there is no doubting his dominance on the court. He is an 11-time NBA All-Star, 11-time All-NBA, 1993 NBA MVP, and a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. 

In his career, he played in 1073 games and averaged 22.1 points per game, 11.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists while shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 73.5 percent from the charity stripe. 

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