Barkley says there are levels to Hall of Fame: 'I understand the rules'

Charles Barkley believes he's on a different tier than other Hall of Fame players due to his lack of an NBA championship.

"I'm in the Hall of Fame, but I'm in a different wing than the guys who won a championship," Barkley said on the "All the Smoke" podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. "I understand the rules."

Barkley was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 following a 16-year career that included an MVP award, two Olympic gold medals, and 11 NBA All-Star appearances. He was named to the NBA's 50th- and 75th-anniversary teams but won't place himself and others without a championship ring on the same level as players like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

"They're not at the table with Magic, Bird, LeBron, Kobe," Barkley said. "It's levels to this shit, and I ain't mad at that. I understand that. Now, if I could've won a championship, I can go across the room. But the rules are the rules."

Barkley made it to the NBA Finals once as a member of the Phoenix Suns in 1993, losing to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in six games. He averaged 27.3 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game in the series.