10 Career-Defining Charles Barkley Basketball Cards – Instant PC
Despite an undersized 6’6″ frame, Charles Barkley was one of the best rebounders of his era. He was also the go-to scorer on some good Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns teams before finishing out his career with the Houston Rockets. His colorful personality as a studio analyst has helped keep him in the public eye in retirement and has played a role in his enduring hobby popularity.
All told, there are more than 3,500 Charles Barkley cards, according to the Beckett database.
So where does one begin putting together a Charles Barkley PC?
The following 10 cards serve as an excellent representation of his playing career and footprint on the hobby, making them a great place to start.
1985-86 Star #2 Charles Barkley
A three-time All-SEC pick at Auburn and the SEC Player of the Year during his junior season, Barkley was the No. 5 overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft after Hakeem Olajuwon, Sam Bowie, Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins.
His first wide-release card is part of the legendary 1984-85 Star set and high-grade copies regularly sell for north of $1,000. A more approachable early option is in the following year’s set from Star. It still a pre-dates his first traditional pack-inserted Rookie Card.
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1986-87 Fleer #7 Charles Barkley RC
After a solid rookie campaign and a jump to 20.0 points per game in his second year in the league, Barkley earned his first All-Star selection during the 1986-87 season when he averaged 23.0 points and an NBA-leading 14.6 rebounds.
Like several legendary 1990s players, his only Rookie Card is part of the 1986-87 Fleer set. Barkley is second only to Michael Jordan in value on a stacked checklist that also features rookies of Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, Clyde Drexler, Isiah Thomas, Dominique Wilkins and many others.
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1987-88 Fleer Stickers #6 Charles Barkley
Barkley turned in the highest scoring output of his career during the 1987-88 season, averaging 28.3 points per game. That impressive total trailed only Michael Jordan (35.0), Dominique Wilkins (30.7) and Larry Bird (29.9) for the NBA lead.
Barkley didn’t make the cut on the cut on the 1986-87 Fleer Stickers checklist, but he was featured on one of the 11 stickers the following year.
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1991-92 Hoops #575 Charles Barkley USA
The 1992 Olympic men’s basketball team is widely regarded as the greatest collection of talent ever assembled. Barkley was part of that iconic group that went on to win a gold medal. In fact, Barkley was the Dream Team’s leading scorer, pouring in 18.0 points per game during their 8-0 run through the field.
The Dream Team was featured on a wide variety of subset and insert cards. The 1991-92 Hoops subset cards are an affordable option with a clean design.
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1992-93 Topps Archives #44 Charles Barkley
In his eight seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, Barkley led the team to six postseason appearances, averaging 23.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks in 610 games. He was a six-time All-Star and established himself as a bona fide superstar in the league.
Since Topps was not producing basketball cards when Barkley first broke into the league, the closest thing he has to a Topps flagship Rookie Card is his inclusion in the 1992-93 Topps Archives set. With designs that mirrored the baseball cards from that era, Topps showed what some of the top rookies might have looked like from 1981 to 1991.
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1992-93 Upper Deck MVP Holograms #21 Charles Barkley
Prior to the 1992-93 season, Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry. He joined a well-rounded Phoenix roster that included Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerele, Tom Chambers and up-and-comer Cedric Ceballos. The Suns went 62-20 and reached the NBA Finals in Barkley’s first year in Phoenix.
Nothing says 1990s cards quite like a hologram, and the 1992-93 Upper Deck MVP Holograms set is as good a pick as any to highlight Barkley’s move from Philadelphia to Phoenix.
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1992-93 SkyBox Thunder and Lightning #TL3 Charles Barkley/Kevin Johnson
Barkley played alongside All-Star point guard Kevin Johnson for his entire four-year run in Phoenix, and outside of John Stockton and Karl Malone in Utah and Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp in Seattle they were as productive as any inside-outside duo in basketball during that time.
The Thunder and Lightning inserts were found in 1:12 packs of 1992-93 SkyBox and highlighted some of the league’s best frontcourt/backcourt tandems.
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1996-97 Upper Deck #145 Charles Barkley/Clyde Drexler/Hakeem Olajuwon
After four seasons in Phoenix, Barkley was traded to the Houston Rockets in a massive deal that sent Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant and Chucky Brown the other way. That gave Houston a “Big Three” as Barkley joined Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon in taking aim at unseating Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
The trio shared a subset card in the 1996-97 Upper Deck set, which highlighted when and how each player was acquired.
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1996-97 Upper Deck Space Jam #21 Charles Barkley
The Space Jam movie was released in 1996, and while Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes were the stars, it also featured NBA players Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Muggsy Bogues, Shawn Bradley and Barkley.
Upper Deck released a Space Jam set as part of its 1996-97 line of products, and Barkley’s solo card on checklist is a must-own for any Barkley collector.
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1999-00 Metal #17 Charles Barkley
Following four seasons with the Rockets, Barkley called it quits after his age-36 season. He ranks among the NBA’s all-time leaders in points (23,757, 27th), rebounds (12,546, 19th), steals (1,648, 27th), minutes played (39,330, 41st) and Win Shares (177.2, 14th).
We round out his collection with a card from the 1999-00 Metal set, and each of his six Metal and Metal Universe base cards should be a part of any Barkley collector’s wish list if they are not already in hand.
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