Charles Barkley on the Time He Got Way Too Drunk Before a Game

After a trade with the Lakers went south, the Hall of Famer got "blasted" before a game.

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Charles Barkley celebrates like the rest of us: by getting totally hammered with friends.

Barkley detailed one such celebration on Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday night. Kimmel asked the Hall of Famer if he ever thought about playing for the Lakers. “I got traded to the Lakers,” Barkley responded. “So, I get a call from my agent one morning and he says, ‘I think we got a deal. You’re going to the Lakers.’”

The trade delighted the former Philadelphia 76ers player, who at the time wanted to leave his team and the city of Philadelphia. “I was so excited, so me and my boys went out to celebrate. We started getting drunk in the middle of the day,” Barkley said. But then, unfortunately, the trade went south. “My agent called me back about three hours later and he says, ‘The [7]6ers pulled out the deal,’ and we got a game that night.”

So Barkley did what he had to do. He played drunk.

“I don’t remember anything about that game. First of all, I was so pissed, but I was so drunk too,” Barkley said. “I have no idea what happened that game. We were so excited I was getting out of Philadelphia. I was blasted. We were doing shots and everything.”

When Kimmel asked Barkley if that was the first time he played intoxicated, Barkley laughed and answered, “No.”

After the crowd burst into laughter, Barkley attempted to redeem himself. “That was the only time I played intoxicated,” he clarified. “I have played hungover before. They are not the same.”

They're definitely not the same, but I'm not sure which sounds worse. Playing under all those bright lights smashed, or having to hear the crowd roar while you have a pounding headache? 

Check out the story around the three-minute mark in the video above.

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