Matt Bullard re-visits Charles Barkley’s sense of humor as Rockets teammate

Former Houston Rockets sharpshooter Matt Bullard explained how Charles Barkley’s sense of humor provided constant laughter during their playing days.

NBA legend Charles Barkley has developed a reputation of being one of the most authentic media voices following his retirement in 2000. Barkley is willing to say whatever he feels, which once led to a skirmish with Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.

Barkley’s unapologetic approach has even led to a falling out with his longtime friend Michael Jordan, who took it personal when Barkley called out many of the decisions MJ has made as the de-facto decision-maker for the Charlotte Hornets. But Barkley’s transparency and bluntness has also become a major source of entertainment for us all, which was on display during the public sparring between the former Houston Rockets forward and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.

Barkley drew the ire of Green when he said that Green has been posting “triple-singles”, which is certainly something Rockets fans can appreciate, considering all of the jawing we’ve grown accustomed to hearing Green spew towards the Rockets. Although Barkley has grown to be one of the more entertaining voices after his playing days, he was a constant source of comic relief pre-retirement, as pointed out by former Houston Rockets sharpshooter Matt Bullard.

Bullard recalls Barkley’s sense of humor during Rockets days.

Bullard was on SportsTalk 790’s afternoon show The A-Team and was asked just how much Barkley made him laugh when the two were teammates in the Space City.

“Pretty much everyday. I look back on my time as a teammate with the Chuckster and he was one of my favorite teammates of all-time. He had something new every single day that we were just laughing about in the locker room and really enjoying each other as teammates.”

During their playing days, Barkley had a public falling out with former Rockets forward Scottie Pippen, who said he wouldn’t apologize to Chuck if someone had a gun pointed to his head. This drew the following classic and unforgettable response from Barkley, as provided courtesy of our friends over at Clutchfans.

“As you know, I always carry a gun with me. So there’s a chance. If I get arrested for murder, then you know he didn’t apologize.”

Barkley also recently admitted to playing an NBA game drunk, which is just as comical. The former Houston Rockets forward was recently on The Lowe Post with ESPN’s Zach Lowe and shared the surrounding details.

“My agent calls me one morning and he says, ‘Hey, you’re going to get traded to the Lakers today,’ and me and my friends, we go out and celebrate and get drunk about noon. I’m on cloud nine. He calls me back three hours later, and says, ‘The Sixers backed out of the deal.’

And, I’m drunk as [expletive] and we got a game that night, and I’m like, ‘What? What are you talking about?’ And, he’s like, ‘The Sixers were scared to pull the trigger.’ And, I said, ‘You’re kidding me. Dude, we got a game tonight and I’ve been drinking since noon.’

It would be awesome to know which game this was, because we’d all be curious to see how he played while being admittedly drunk. But Barkley said he didn’t remember the game or even how he played (surprise, surprise), but that he remembers still being upset that the Lakers trade fell apart afterwards.

It’s a safe bet that Bullard is right about Barkley providing comic relief, both on the court and in the locker room.