The Philadelphia 76ers honored "The Round Mound of Rebound" Charles Barkley on Friday, as they officially unveiled his brand new statue along the Legends Walk outside of the team's practice facility in Camden, New Jersey. Barkley's first reaction upon seeing the statue? "I don't know if I've ever been that skinny."
During the ceremony, the 11-time All Star told stories about the start of his career in Philadelphia, and praised fellow Hall of Famer Moses Malone for helping him realize how "fat and lazy" he was. Check out some footage from today's festivities below.
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Barkley was selected fifth overall out of Auburn by the Sixers in the 1984 NBA Draft and he spent his first eight seasons with the franchise before moving on to the Phoenix Suns, and later the Houston Rockets.
During his eight seasons with the Sixers, Sir Charles earned All Star honors six times while averaging 23.3 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per night. He averaged double-digit rebounds in 15 of his 16 NBA seasons, with the lone outlier being his rookie season where he ripped down 8.6 boards a night to go along with 14 points per game.
Other former Sixers who have been immortalized with their own statues include the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Maurice Cheeks, Julius Erving and Bobby Jones. The Hall of Fame forward has also had his jersey retired by all three teams that he played for during his illustrious career.
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