Charles Barkley Named His Top-15 NBA Players, and Neither Larry Bird Nor Magic Johnson Cracked the Top 10
In the world of sports, top-10 lists are unavoidable. Whether you’re sitting at a bar, watching TV, or scrolling through Twitter, you’re going to see rankings trying to rank athletes above each other. Charles Barkley, as basketball fans know, is never shy about sharing an opinion, which can make his list a bit more interesting than most.
During an appearance on All the Smoke, Sir Charles was asked to name his top-five NBA players of all time. While that’s already a daunting enough question, the TNT talking head took things a bit further and shared 15 names. And, as if that wasn’t enough to get basketball fans fired up, Chuck took things one step further and left Larry Bird and Magic Johnson outside of the top 10.
Sound unbelievable? Let’s break it down.
Charles Barkley unveils his top-15 NBA players on ‘All the Smoke’
If you’ve ever watched or listened to All the Smoke, you know that the interview usually ends with some “quick hitters.” While asking for a top-five ranking of some sort is a pretty standard practice, Charles Barkley took things a bit further. When asked for his five all-time NBA players, Chuck tripled the required number.
“Michael [Jordan], Oscar [Robertson], Wilt [Chamberlain], Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], Bill Russell,” Barkley began. While that was already a solid list and answered the question, he wasn’t done yet. “Kobe [Bryant], LeBron [James], Tim Duncan, Hakeem [Olajuwon], Jerry West,” he added. “Those are my top 10.”
Now, those who are well-versed in Chuck’s work will notice two names missing: Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Sir Charles has, after all, called those two men the most important people in NBA history. Importance, however, is not the same as greatness. While they made his list, they fell outside of the top 10.
“And then you got Magic, Bird, Shaq, Steph [Curry] is right there, Elgin Baylor,” Barkley continued, rounding out the list.
It goes without saying that ranking will get everyone fired up and ready to defend their own favorites. With that in mind, we’ve compiled an abbreviated statistical comparison below.
| Player | PPG | APG | RPG | Championships |
| Michael Jordan | 30.1 | 5.3 | 6.2 | 6 |
| Oscar Robertson | 25.7 | 9.5 | 7.5 | 1 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | 30.1 | 4.4 | 22.9 | 2 |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 24.6 | 3.6 | 11.2 | 6 |
| Bill Russell | 15.1 | 4.3 | 22.5 | 11 |
| Kobe Bryant | 25.0 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 5 |
| LeBron James | 27.2 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 4 |
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 3.0 | 10.8 | 5 |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 21.8 | 2.5 | 11.1 | 2 |
| Jerry West | 27.0 | 6.7 | 5.8 | 1 |
| Magic Johnson | 19.5 | 11.2 | 7.2 | 5 |
| Larry Bird | 24.3 | 6.3 | 10.0 | 3 |
| Shaquille O’Neal | 23.7 | 2.5 | 10.9 | 4 |
| Stephen Curry | 24.5 | 6.5 | 4.7 | 4 |
| Elgin Baylor | 27.4 | 4.3 | 13.5 | 0 |
Even with those numbers, though, all-time greatness is largely in the eye of the beholder. If we know anything about Charles Barkley, though, he’s not going to back down from his convictions on this one.
What do you think about Chuck’s rankings? Where do you place Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the all-time pantheon? Let us know in the comments below.
