Charles Barkley: Motivational Quotes from Sir Charles

Charles Barkley has become a cult figure in sports. From Auburn to the NBA, where he played for the 76ers, Suns, and Rockets, Barkley was a tough player who dealt with being undersized for his position. Charles Barkley overcame being undersized by being an incredibly physical player throughout the 1980s and 90s. His NBA career saw him named an All-Star 11 times, while he won a gold medal with the Dream Team. However, in his Hall of Fame career, Charles Barkley was never able to win a championship.

Following his retirement, Charles Barkley moved into media and NBA coverage, helping to ensure the next generation fell in love with Sir Charles. Here are his greatest quotes:

10 Best Quotes From Charles Barkley

1. “I am not a role model…Parents should be role models. Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.”
2. “America is divided by economics and we as Americans, we’ve got to do a better job of supporting poor people.”
3. “You can’t sit on the sidelines of life.”
4. “The idea of religion is to bring people together. We are not supposed to judge other people.”
5. “When I was recruited at Auburn, they took me to a strip joint. When I saw those titties on Buffy, I knew that Auburn met my academic requirements.”
6. “I think you have an obligation, to be honest.”
7. “Sometimes that light at the end of the tunnel is a train.”
8. “I’m so tired of people in the media telling us that because of the war, sports aren’t important. Fans need sports. We’d have only crime and war to watch on TV if not for sports.”
9. “You can talk without saying a thing. I don’t ever want to be that type of person.”
10. “You gotta believe in yourself…I believe I’m the best-looking guy in the world and I might be right.”

Inspirational Quotes From Barkley

• “My message is simple: take control of your life.”
• “I don’t hate anyone, at least not for more than 48 minutes, barring overtime.”
• “I’m never embarrassed.”

Leadership Quotes From Charles Barkley

• “I do not use words like liberal or conservative. You can ask me a question and I will give you an answer. Those are words rich people on television use to divide and conquer.”
• “I’m a mad dog whose only concern is winning.”
• “Christian is the strongest man in the NBA next year because all he’s been doing all summer is carrying around the luggage for 11 guys.”
• “People like you as long as you agree with them. But that doesn’t bother me.”

Funny Quotes From Barkley

• “These are my new shoes. They’re good shoes. They won’t make you rich like me…they definitely won’t make you handsome like me. They’ll only make you have shoes like me. That’s it.”
• “They run like deer, jump like deer and think like deer.”
• “Somebody hits me, I’m going to hit them back. Even if it does look like he hasn’t eaten in a while.”
• “Golf is fun until you hit someone in the head.”
• “Just because you watch Grey’s Anatomy doesn’t mean you can do the operation.”

Team Attitude Quotes From Charles Barkley

• “Just because you say something doesn’t make it controversial, and it doesn’t make you a bad person.”
• “We’re not all supposed to think alike.”
• “All I know is, as long as I led the Southeastern Conference in scoring, my grades would be fine.”
• “See, my hope and dream is that people have a good time watching basketball. It’s not church. It’s not serious.”

Success Quotes From Barkley

• “The main thing to do is relax and let your talent do the work.”
• “The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not.”
• “I think that the team that wins game five will win the series. Unless we lose game five.”
• “If you can’t slam with the best, then jam with the rest.”
• “I remember sitting down with the Rockets and saying, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna retire.’ They said, ‘Well, we’ll give you $9 million.’ And I said, ‘You got a pen on you?'”