Charles Barkley comments on passing of Moses Malone: I called him 'Dad'
The basketball world was hit with saddening news Sunday as it was confirmed NBA legend Moses Malone passed away at the age of 60.
Malone was reportedly found in a Norfolk hotel room after failing to appear at a celebrity golf tournament he was scheduled to attend, according to ESPN.com.
Current TNT analyst and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, who played alongside Malone for the first two seasons of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers, offered the following statement, per NBA.com:
The man I called 'Dad' passed today. Words can't explain my sadness. I will never know why a Hall of Famer took a fat, lazy kid from Auburn and treated him like a son and got him in shape and made him a player.
Every time I saw him I called him 'Dad.' I hope he knew how much I appreciated and loved him.
Barkley acknowledged the impact Malone had on his career during his enshrinement ceremony into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
"I always tell people the most influential person in my career is Moses because he got me in shape and taught me how to work hard," Barkley said. "I asked him early in my rookie year, 'Why am I not getting to play?' After I got over the fat-and-lazy thing - it took me a little bit to get over that - he got me in shape. And I always give him great credit for that."
Malone won the NBA Most Valuable Player award on three different occasions (1979, 1982, 1983), played on 12 All-Star teams, and was named a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time team in 1996. He also won the first and only championship of his historic career with Philadelphia in 1983, picking up NBA Finals MVP honors in the process.
- With h/t to CBS Sports