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On that day 20 years ago, the NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley had his jersey withdrawn from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Twenty years ago, the Philadelphia 76ers were in the midst of their best season of the 21st century, culminating with their base title in the division and their last appearance in the NBA finals. Philly was led by the League’s Most Valuable Player, Allen Iverson, this season, of course.
For one night this spring – Tuesday, 20 years ago – another Sixers legend was in the spotlight at what was then the First Union Center in Philadelphia .
On March 30, 2001, the NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley withdrew his number 34 from the organization.
« Sir Charles » was voted fifth overall by the Sixers in the 1984 NBA Draft and played first eight seasons of his career with the club.
Since Barkley left the association after the 1999-2000 campaign, he has remained largely in the limelight. He has worked as an analyst for TNT since 2000 and is part of the Inside the NBA crew alongside Ernie Johnson Jr., Kenny « The Jet » Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.
During his playing career, Barkley provided elite numbers together and received numerous awards including the 1993 NBA MVP Award and 11 all-star appearances. Despite having only spent half of his career with the 76ers, he is still a franchise leader in many categories.
Barkley is third in all-time profit share with 106.1 points, trailing Dolph Schayes with 142 , 4 and Julius Ervings with 106.2. At 2,688 and 4,391 respectively, he’s the first on the all-time Sixers list for both offensive and defensive rebounds.
Schayes and Red Kerr are both ahead of Barkley in terms of rebounds, but offensive and defensive rebounds have become in not keeping an eye on their match days. Barkley also ranks first in the two-point field goal percentage with 61.4%, an offensive score of 121.3, and other categories.
Despite his various antics and controversies over the decades, Barkley is in the City of Brotherly Love popular with everyone.
Since Barkley’s jersey was hung on the rafters, there have been three more Philly legends whose number claimed immortality to bring the total to ten. Iverson’s number three uniform was retired in 2014, Schayes’ number four was posthumously retired in 2016. Three months after his death, Moses Malone’s number two was also hung posthumously in 2019.
In addition, the organization briefly put it in 1986, short after his death, legendary public address announcer Dave Zinkoff’s microphone went out of service.
There are a handful of worthy contestants to be the next Philadelphia 76ers jersey to retire, but an active player could do that have the best shot.
37-year-old Andre Iguodala could become another “AI” to receive the honor after his game days are over. « Iggy » was drafted ninth by the team in 2004 – and was number nine – and spent the first eight seasons of his career in Philadelphia.
He is currently ninth on the list of franchise profit shares at 61.2 and received his only All-Star nod in his final season with the Sixers in 2012. In five of his seasons with the Sixers and leading the team in profit sharing, he also led the team to the Eastern Conference playoffs five times.
Iguodala was incredibly long-lived during his Philly days. He was eligible for all 82 regular season games in five of his first six NBA seasons and played no fewer than 62 competitions per year with his first squad during his stint. Iguodala is currently in its second season with the Miami Heat.
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