Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Sir Charles" for his aggressive and outspoken demeanor, and "The Round Mound of Rebound" for his unusual build and talent, Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Associations (NBAs) most dominating power forwards (Power forward (basketball)). He was selected to the All-NBA First Team five times, the All-NBA Second Team five times, and once to the All-NBA Third Team. He earned eleven NBA All-Star Game appearances and was named the All-Star MVP (NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award) in 1991. In 1993, he was voted the leagues Most Valuable Player (NBA Most Valuable Player Award) and during the NBAs 50th anniversary, named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (NBAs 50th Anniversary All-Time Team). He competed in the 1992 (Basketball at the 1992 Summer Olympics) and 1996 (Basketball at the 1996 Summer Olympics) Olympic games (Basketball at the Summer Olympics) and won two gold medals as a member of the United States (United States mens national basketball team) Dream Team (United States mens national basketball team#1992 The Dream Team). In 2006, Barkley was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (Basketball Hall of Fame).

Barkley was popular with the fans and media and made the NBAs All-Interview Team for his last 13 seasons in the league. He was frequently involved in on- and off-court fights and sometimes stirred national controversy, as in March 1991 when he mistakenly spat on a young girl, and as in 1993 when he declared that sports figures should not be considered role models. Short for a power forward, Barkley used his strength and aggressiveness to become one of the NBAs most dominant rebounders (rebound (basketball)). He was a versatile player who had the ability to score, create plays, and defend. In 2000, he retired as one of only four players in NBA history with 20,000 points (point (basketball)), 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists (Assist (basketball)), although a fifth player, Kevin Garnett, has since accomplished that feat.

Since retiring as a player, Barkley has had a successful career as a color commentator on basketball. He works with Turner Network Television (TNT) as a studio pundit for its coverage of NBA games. In addition, Barkley has written several books and has shown an interest in politics; in October 2008, he announced that he will be running for Governor of Alabama in 2014.cnn.com, Charles Barkley tells Brown racism is a cancer, accessed October 28, 2008