Auburn legend Charles Barkley's motivational speech to Tigers squad resurfaces ahead of Final Four thriller vs. Florida
TNT analyst Charles Barkley has become synonymous with his creative analysis and legendary NBA career. Before becoming an NBA standout, the former All-Star was a dynamo rebounder and scorer for the Auburn Tigers between 1981 and 1984.
During his three-year stint with the Tigers, Barkley led them to their first NCAA tournament in program history and averaged 23.0 points, 17.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, 2.0 steals and 4.0 assists per game during the 1984 iteration of the Big Dance. Despite his No. 34 jersey being retired by the program in 2001, the popular forward never won the national championship.
Ahead of the 2024 Tigers' Final Four clash against the No. 1 Florida Gators on Friday, a clip of Charles Barkley speaking to the 2019 team that reached the Final Four resurfaced on X.
"What I want to tell you guys today, I've had an amazing life as a basketball player, my number is retired at Auburn, my number is retired at Philadelphia," Charles Barkley had said to the team. "But you know what? I never won a championship. I got to live with that forever. You guys got a chance to do that, seize this opportunity.
"You ain't got to do anything different. Y'all played great to get here. But don't take this thing for granted. So, I just wanna thank you for the greatest ride in Auburn basketball history. That's all I want to tell you. Seize this opportunity 'cause it don't come along that often."
The 2019 Tigers team lost 63–62 to the No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers under controversial circumstances in the Final Four of the Big Dance. With the Tigers leading 63–59, with 0.6 seconds remaining, Auburn's Samir Doughty was called for a borderline foul allowing Virginia's Kyle Guy to win the Cavaliers the game by scoring all his free throws.
Charles Barkley promised huge honor by Bruce Pearl
While speaking to reporters before the Auburn Tigers' Final Four clash against the Florida Gators, coach Bruce Pearl made a promise to Charles Barkley regarding his team's prospects at the NCAA tournament.
“Somehow, I've got to find a way to win so that Charles Barkley can give Magic Johnson some crap and represent,” Bruce Pearl said. “Magic's always floating those rings at Charles, right? He's always floating those rings, and Charles ain't got any rings. I've got to try to get some rings for Charles, so he can float them back at Magic.”
Pearl was referring to Barkley being teased by his fellow NBA analysts who got to win championships in college basketball and the NBA. Magic Johnson won a national championship with the Michigan State Spartans alongside five NBA titles.
During his Auburn career, Barkley averaged 14.1 ppg on 62.6% shooting from the field, 9.6 rpg, 1.7 bpg and 1.6 apg. He was picked No. 5 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1984 NBA draft.