[For a long period after retirement, Charles Barkley's weight was a topic of conversation.
In Portland, he embarked on an epic weight loss journey to grasp his last chance at a championship ring and succeeded.
But once he got the coveted championship ring, his weight ballooned like a balloon, even after becoming a commentator at Turner Television.
Charles wasn't ashamed of this; he even agreed to participate in a reality show about obesity, weighing himself in front of everyone.
Charles said he hoped to return to his playing weight of around 265 pounds, which was his ideal state.
When the scale showed 337.5 pounds, Barkley himself was quite shocked and had a bit of a meltdown.
This was 20 pounds more than he had anticipated.
His weight almost equaled the combined weight of Albert and Flattero (hosts at Turner Television).
Looking across the NBA, only Shaquille O'Neal outweighed Barkley. (At the time, people didn't know that O'Neal would team up with Barkley for the heaviest commentary duo in history, totaling 700 pounds).
Barkley's weight was often joked about, including by Barkley himself, who would self-deprecate.
On the show, he asked the host why his photo hadn't been on the cover of Time Magazine, to which the host replied: because the cover wasn't big enough.
Even Barkley's grandmother joked, hoping Johnson and Smith wouldn't put too much pressure on Barkley on the show, or he'd eat too many donuts and gain even more weight.
But in reality, Barkley was the one applying pressure; he dared to say anything on the show. He was the core, the main attraction.
While Johnson and Smith were sidekicks, they revolved around Barkley, cushioning his remarks—sometimes this guy talked too much, saying nonsense.
Kenny Smith said, "Initially, I was a little worried, but once Charles arrived, we quickly jelled. Barkley is like Mike Tyson or George Foreman, throwing heavy punches all night. And I'm like Roy Jones, constantly dodging, countering with jabs. Occasionally, I'd get knocked down by a heavy punch, but I'd quickly get back up. After many jabs, even Barkley would get hurt."
"Of course, at these moments, Charles would reveal his trump card. He'd extend his right fist, showing off the championship ring on his middle finger to me. This often means a knockout! Superb show effect."
Barkley was in his element at Turner Television, significantly boosting the station's ratings. People subscribed to this channel's paid program just to watch his big mouth critique everything on TV.
His staple was criticizing Ah Gan, attacking the greatest basketball player. In this postmodern world where everything is deconstructed and criticized, nothing can't be criticized and reinterpreted.
Of course, we all knew it was just showbiz; Barkley's criticisms weren't malicious but rather humorous and warm.
After all, it was Ah Gan who provided him this job, along with that precious ring on his hand.
Before the 2002 All-Star Game, Barkley was ranting again, thinking Ah Gan and Jordan should sit out the All-Star Game and give the starting spots to the young players instead of slapping a stage for them to perform.
"Sonny, you should take off your jersey and sit next to me; let's sing a song together. You can wear ten championship rings on your hands, beating ten Kenny Smiths. What a wonderful retirement life? Take Porter along, and we'll start an exhibition of Trail Blazers' championship rings. Why compete for opportunities with young folks on the NBA court? You even need to strive for a playoff spot. My God, Sonny!"
"Retire! There's a place for you right beside me!"]
———Published in 2022, an excerpt from Charles Barkley's biography "Barkley" by Mote Bella.
February 8, 2002, Philadelphia, at the Marriott Hotel, the lodging place for NBA players.
Two days later, the NBA All-Star Game is set to be held at the Philadelphia First United Center. It's been 26 years since the All-Star Game returned to Philadelphia since 1976.
In a luxurious presidential suite, Gan Guoyang, Jordan, Ewing, and Barkley are gathered around a small table playing Mahjong.
The TV is on, broadcasting Charles Barkley's "outrageous comments" from Turner Television, replaying yesterday's show.
Barkley's face is covered in sticky notes. He's having a terrible day, not only losing money but also getting penalties of sticky notes.
The most notes were on his mouth, about five or six, but this didn't stop him from talking, as his mouth wasn't sealed shut.
"Damn! What kind of tiles did I draw! Oh, God, winning is so hard… I hope my luck improves!"
Of course, the game of Mahjong was taught to them by Gan Guoyang.
Back in the day, they all used to play cards, but after a while, they got bored of various card games.
So, Gan Guoyang brought out a set of ox bone Mahjong tiles, playing together with Jordan, Barkley, and others after golf or bowling during the offseason.
As they played more, golf and bowling didn't seem as fun; nothing beats Mahjong.
Later, the three often brought Ewing, or Payton, or Thorpe along to play Mahjong to kill time.
They certainly played for money sometimes; the stakes could be quite high, with wins and losses, but generally speaking, Jordan won the most.