“Nobody owes you anything” – Charles Barkley shared the greatest lessons he learned about the NBA that made him a better player

Charles Barkley made his mark in the NBA, although winning an NBA title eluded him. Regardless, "The Round Mound of Rebound" racked up individual awards one after another for his efforts on the teams he played.

When he entered the league in 1984, critics felt that Barkley was a bit undersized at the forward position for the Philadelphia 76ers. Soon, he would prove his detractors wrong, using his wits and hard work to rise above the rest.

Smarter Barkley in 1994

Being through a lot in 1994, the Auburn product admitted that he had already learned a lot while playing in the NBA. He pointed out that part of the learning curve is working hard to attain your goals.

"Nobody owes you anything. You have to work for what you get. My mom taught me that, but that's stuff you learn along the way. I've gotten smarter; I'm better, a better basketball player, " Barkley said in an interview with the New York Times in 1994.

At the time of that interview, Barkley was with the Phoenix Suns . He was coming off an MVP season and came close to winning his first NBA title in the 1992-93 wars. Unfortunately, that didn't happen with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls frustrating Phoenix in six games.

When Jordan decided to retire after that title conquest, attention would shift to Barkley and the Suns. Although the Bulls remained formidable, Phoenix could try and reach the Finals once more and get a fresh shot at winning its first NBA title.

Injuries started to slow down Barkley

However, a new problem cropped up - Barkley had been dealing with injuries, which would force him to miss games or play a notch lower. With his predicament, rumors grew that there was a chance Sir Charles may cut his career short.

" A lot of people are saying that I'm suckin', but I still play better than anyone else," Barkley said to Slam .

Barkley played with the Suns until 1996. He was then traded to the Houston Rockets for Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant, and Chucky Brown. Given that Houston already had Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the addition of Chuck made the Rockets a team to watch.

The best the Rockets could do with their big three was to reach the Western Conference finals in 1997. Barkley would remain in Houston for four seasons before calling it quits in 2000.

Related: Charles Barkley explained why he was never a trash talker in his career: "I had too much going on in my brain"