Kevin Johnson Reveals How Charles Barkley Treated Fans With ‘Liquor Courage’

NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is well known for his adventures. It is no secret that Barkley has lived life the way he wants to – charismatic and unapologetic. But such behavior has landed him in trouble quite a few times as well, both on and off the court. During his NBA career, he faced multiple arrests due to his brawls with fans.

Following his retirement, the 11-time All-Star turned into an analyst and is part of the crew on Inside the NBA, a post-game show alongside host Ernie Johnson Jr., and former players Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.

On the show, Charles Barkley is well known for his trolling and for his unfiltered opinions. Barkley and O’Neal are known for engaging in humorous banters, arguments, and silly bets, which have led to the duo being huge fan-favorites of the show. Recently, Barkley was in the headlines for criticizing ESPN over scheduling issues.

Barkley spent some of the best years of his playing career with the Phoenix Suns. He enjoyed his time with the Suns so much that, after retiring in 2000, Barkley chose to settle in Arizona and has lived there for over 25 years.

During his time in Phoenix, Barkley formed a dynamic duo with Kevin Johnson. The two also had a good relationship on and off the court. Johnson appeared on the Club 520 podcast and narrated a story about Barkley getting into it with a fan and later being arrested for his actions.

When Charles went into the club, people get this liquor courage. They looking at him and be like ‘he ain’t as big as I think he is, he can’t do this or that’. So people just challenged him all the time. So this one time in Orlando, this one dude saw Charles and threw some water on Charles. Charles looked at him and picked this dude up and threw him out the glass window.

Unfortunately for Barkley, he faced charges of aggravated battery and resisting arrest without violence. However, it was just one of many instances that led to Barkley’s arrest.

Kevin Johnson feels Charles Barkley deserved a championship

Barkley was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers as the number five pick in the 1984 NBA draft. After spending eight seasons with the 76ers, Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns.

The trade worked out well for the club and the player. During his four-year spell with the Suns, Barkley won the league MVP and took them to the NBA Finals in his first season. However, they lost to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in six games.

Johnson spoke about Barkley’s greatness and his regret of not winning a championship with the Chuckster on the Club 520 podcast.

Man, I hate watching him on TNT and now on ESPN with Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, and they get on him for not winning a championship. That one hurts. That brother deserved an NBA championship. He belongs in that group of elite players who won rings. And the fact that he doesn’t have one pisses me off every time I see him on TV.

Barkley did have a successful career and amassed an impressive collection of individual awards, including the 1993 MVP, 11 All-Star selections, and 11 All-NBA selections, which place him amongst the game’s greats. But with no championship to his name, he is never mentioned in the conversation of all-time greats.

Kevin Johnson on being told to guard Michael Jordan in 1993 NBA Finals

If there is one defensive task that could be described as the toughest assignment in NBA history, it would be guarding Jordan. Jordan is primarily responsible for many of the great players of the 1990s not having an NBA championship to their name, Barkley and Johnson being two of them.

The Suns had the best regular-season record in the 1992-93 season. But they found themselves 2-0 down to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. Suns head coach Paul Westphal decided to tweak the defensive game plan by having Johnson guard Jordan instead of Dan Majerle.

Johnson revealed that it was a decision that he did not take too well.

[Majerle] gets scorched by Michael Jordan, and he was our best defensive player. So, we flying from Phoenix to Chicago, and I fall asleep on the plane, and then the head coach wakes me up. He says, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know, Game 3 is going to be your game.’ I said, ‘Cool.’ I believe that. I’m going to have a bounce back. He’s like, ‘And you’re guarding Michael Jordan’.

Johnson hilariously stated he lost his faith at that point. He even went to Church to question his faith. The Suns won game three, but the Bulls went on to clinch the series in six games and claimed their third championship in a row.

Jordan would finish the series averaging 41 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game against the Suns. That scoring average remains, to this day, the highest in a Finals series.

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