Top 100 Charles Barkley Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Social media is where losers go to feel important.”

— Charles Barkley

2. “My message is simple: take control of your life.”

— Charles Barkley

3. “Sometimes that light at the end of the tunnel is a train.”

— Charles Barkley

4. “I like to help poor people who got no chance. If rich people don’t, who will? Not other poor people, that’s for sure.”

— Charles Barkley

5. “I May Be Wrong but I Doubt It.”

— Charles Barkley

6. “I’m not a role model.”

— Charles Barkley

7. “I don’t know anything about Angola, but Angola’s in trouble.”

— Charles Barkley

8. “I can be bought. If they paid me enough, I’d work for the Klan.”

— Charles Barkley

9. “I don’t care what people think. people are stupid.”

— Charles Barkley

10. “Poor people have been voting for Democrats for the last 50 years and they’re still poor.”

— Charles Barkley

11. “I always laugh when people ask me about rebounding techniques. I’ve got a technique. It’s called just go get the damn ball.”

— Charles Barkley

12. “Curling is not a sport. I called my grandmother and told her she could win a gold medal because they have dusting in the Olympics now.”

— Charles Barkley

13. “I read that heavy drinking is bad for your health. I decided I better stop reading.”

— Charles Barkley

Featured in: Reading Quotes

14. “People always say turn the other cheek. If you turn the other cheek, I’m gonna hit you in the other cheek too.”

— Charles Barkley

15. “The main thing to do is relax and let your talent do the work.”

— Charles Barkley

16. “If I weren’t earning $3 million a year to dunk a basketball, most people on the street would run in the other direction if they saw me coming.”

— Charles Barkley

17. “The older I get, the faster I was.”

— Charles Barkley

18. “I think the biggest problem is parents are so concerned with being friends with their kids. You’re not their friend. You’re their parent.”

— Charles Barkley

19. “Only poor people go to jail.”

— Charles Barkley

20. “These are my new shoes. They’re good shoes. They won’t make you rich like me, they won’t make you rebound like me, they definitely won’t make you handsome like me. They’ll only make you have shoes like me. That’s it.”

— Charles Barkley

21. “There’s no medical term for what I’ve got.”

— Charles Barkley

22. “Preseason is just a way to screw fans out of money.”

— Charles Barkley

23. “I was asked for years about being a Republican, probably because most black people are Democrats. My mother heard it once and called me and said ‘Charles, Republicans are for the rich people.’ And I said, ‘Mom, I’m rich.’”

— Charles Barkley

24. “If all babies are so cute, how the hell do we have so many ugly people in the world?”

— Charles Barkley

25. “My wife’s married. I’m not.”

— Charles Barkley

26. “If you can’t slam with the best, then jam with the rest.”

— Charles Barkley

27. “I don’t believe professional athletes should be role models. I believe parents should be role models...”

— Charles Barkley

28. “There’s only 5 real jobs in the world. Teacher, fireman, policeman, doctor and somebody who is in the armed service. If you don’t have one of those 5 jobs, you shouldn’t take your life that serious.”

— Charles Barkley

29. “I’m afraid of the skeletons in my closet. I’ve got a whole cemetery full of them.”

— Charles Barkley

30. “The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not.”

— Charles Barkley

31. “He’s got to bring something stronger than that. That’s like bringing milk to a bar, it’s not strong enough.”

— Charles Barkley

Featured in: Strong Quotes

32. “I don’t listen to the refs. I don’t listen to anyone who makes less money than I do.”

— Charles Barkley

33. “I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play.”

— Charles Barkley

34. “This is why I hate white people. You guys try to turn everything into a racial issue.”

— Charles Barkley

35. “They run like deer, jump like deer and think like deer.”

— Charles Barkley

36. “Well, when I went off to college, the guys I used to hang with were pumping gas and voting Democrat. Today they’re still pumping gas and voting Democrat. Guess the Democrats didn’t do much for them.”

— Charles Barkley

37. “The most underrated player in NBA history is Dominique Wilkins. Right behind him is Gary Payton. He never has gotten the respect he deserves. If he doesn’t spend the rest of his days in Seattle, I hope he goes someplace where he has a chance to win a title.”

— Charles Barkley

38. “It’s the kind of game that makes you go home and beat your wife.”

— Charles Barkley

39. “If you go out with a girl and they say she has a great personality, she’s ugly. If they tell you a guy works hard, he can’t play a lick. Same thing.”

— Charles Barkley

40. “If Michael Jordan was a damn plumber, he couldn’t get a date. Any guy got $500 million looks good.”

— Charles Barkley

41. “You got to believe in yourself. Hell, I believe I’m the best-looking guy in the world and I might be right.”

— Charles Barkley

42. “Half Man, Half Sit-Out-The-Season.”

— Charles Barkley

43. “I’m not paid to be a role model. I’m paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court.”

— Charles Barkley

44. “You can’t start a diet in the middle of the week, that’s just stupid.”

— Charles Barkley

45. “I don’t worry about playing basketball; that comes natural. I just want to have fun. David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordanthis is like spring break in the ghetto.”

— Charles Barkley

Featured in: Fun Quotes

46. “Everybody in the world has an ego. The only difference between us is we have a reason to have an ego.”

— Charles Barkley

47. “If ifs were gifts, every day would be Christmas.”

— Charles Barkley

48. “I don’t create controversies. They’re there long before I open my mouth. I just bring them to your attention.”

— Charles Barkley

49. “Yeah, I regret we weren’t on a higher floor.”

— Charles Barkley

50. “I don’t hate anyone, at least not for more than 48 minutes, barring overtime.”

— Charles Barkley