The Los Angeles Lakers could have raised the jersey of another Hall of Famer to its rafters, had not the Philadelphia 76ers pulled out Charles Barkley three hours after trading him to Hollywood.
Barkley, one of the best power forwards who ever played the game, revealed in an interview with Sports Illustrated writer Richard Deitsch that he was actually traded by the Sixers to the Lakers in exchange for James Worthy and Elden Campbell in 1992.
Berkley said he was very excited when he learned he would be playing for Los Angeles after frustrating seasons with the Sixers. Unfortunately, Philadelphia rescinded the traded and shipped him to the Phoenix Suns instead for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry.
"The Sixers backed out," Barkley said during the chat. "It was going crazy for two weeks so I knew it would come down to Portland, [the] Lakers or Phoenix. So I get a call from my agent one morning and he said, "Philly has traded you to the Lakers." So I went to lunch and started drinking. I'm f---ing so excited that I am going to the Lakers.
Three hours later I get a f---ing phone call from my agent saying that the Sixers backed out of the deal. I said, "Oh, s--t, I'm feeling pretty good right now." So I went out and played that night."
Despite not getting his wish of playing under the bright lights of Los Angeles, Barkley still put up a monster performance during the 1992-1993 seasons, averaging 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game to win his first and only NBA MVP award. He also put the Suns on his back and carried them to the 1993 NBA finals, where his team failed to stop the Chicago Bulls' quest for a three straight NBA championship.
