Even before Charles Barkley stepped onto an NBA court as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, the rivalry between his team and the Boston Celtics was already deep-rooted and intense.
Having clashed in three straight postseason series following Larry Bird’s arrival to the league, the Sixers held a slight edge – eliminating Boston twice in the Eastern Conference Finals in that span.
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The one time the Celtics got the better of Philly, they had to mount a dramatic 3-1 comeback to punch their ticket to the championship round. So, long before the Celtics were locking horns against the Los Angeles Lakers, it was the 76ers who were considered their biggest rivals.
Naturally, with so much history and hard-fought battles, tensions were bound to boil over – and they often did. That’s why, when Barkley joined the team and casually hung out with a few Celtics players before a preseason game, his teammates wasted no time in reminding him that friendships with Boston weren’t welcome – only bad blood.
Charles thought the Celtics were cool
One of the most intense moments in this rivalry came in October 1983 during a preseason game at the iconic Boston Garden. Just four minutes into the game, fists started flying. Larry Bird and Sixers’ Marc Iavaroni were both ejected for fighting and Gerald Henderson was tossed after throwing a punch at Sixers guard Sedale Threatt. Moreover, things got so heated that Celtics GM Red Auerbach charged his way onto the court to confront Moses Malone.
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With this kind of hostility on full display, it was clear that building friendships across enemy lives was almost impossible.
So, when Barkley arrived in 1984, he had no idea just how much animosity existed between the two teams. What he thought was an innocent hangout with Celtics stars quickly turned into a lesson in loyalty and rivalry. The message from his Sixers teammates was loud and clear – there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed, especially when it comes to Boston.
“These guys (76ers) hated the Celtics. I’m a dumb rook (and) we bump into these guys in Vegas. I’m hanging out with these guys and they’re all cracking jokes and they’re all cool. I try to tell the guys on the team the next day, ‘Man, the Celtics are great.’ They’re like, ‘Hey man, do not talk to the Celtics,'” Barkley recalled with a chuckle. “We got to fight these guys in the preseason. I was like, ‘Wow, something’s going on here.’ Before I know… elbows, punching people.”
Barkley didn’t get much time to experience the 76ers vs. Celtics rivalry
While the 76ers vs. Celtics rivalry truly hit its peak during the days of Dr. J and Bird, Barkley only got one real shot at that playoff tension, facing Boston in the 1985 Eastern Conference Finals during his rookie season. After that, the two franchises wouldn’t meet in the playoffs again until 2001.
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And while it’s easy to imagine “The Round Mound of Rebound” forming a solid bond with Larry Legend, similar to what he formed with Michael Jordan when the two were rivals on the court, his veteran teammates made sure that wasn’t going to happen during his early years in the city of brotherly love. It’s something that will never be seen in today’s era, where players from different teams often work out and hang out with each other during the summer.
Related: “I’m motivating Charles to get on my level” – MJ on why he could say anything to Barkley