Barkley Leaves by Doing His Version of ‘My Way’

Charles Barkley ended his 16-season career the way he wanted.

Determined to go out standing up, the Houston Rocket forward thrilled the hometown crowd with 7:26 left in the second quarter Wednesday night when he reported into the regular-season finale against the Vancouver Grizzlies.

Barkley, sidelined since Dec. 8 by a ruptured knee tendon, received a standing ovation amid shouts of “Barkley, Barkley, Barkley.” Fans waved cardboard cutout Barkley masks and groaned when Barkley missed his first shot with 6:10 left in the half.

Barkley missed his next two shots before he finally got a rebound and scored with 1:24 left in the second quarter.

That got him another standing ovation, and Coach Rudy Tomjanovich took him out with 1:19 left.

Barkley left smiling, finishing with two points, one rebound, one assist and a blocked shot in six minutes.

When he returned to the bench for the second half, a fluffy recliner awaited him.

The Rockets almost had another thrill with a fourth quarter comeback, but the Grizzlies held on for a 96-92 victory that end a losing streak at seven games.

But it was Barkley’s night. Barkley, wanting to return from a knee injury that was supposed to end his career, wanted to walk off the court under his own power, rather than the way he was carried off after the December injury in Philadelphia, the city in which he entered the league.

Carroll Dawson, the Rockets’ vice president, told Barkley that he “owned the backboards in the NBA” and then presented Barkley with the backboard from which he got his final NBA rebound.

“You really own this one,” Dawson said.

Barkley accepted the praise graciously.

“For 16 years, I’ve lived every kid’s fantasy,” said Barkley, who also played in Phoenix. “It’s unfortunate I didn’t come to Houston until I was on the downside. I wish I could have played my entire career here.”

For all his flamboyance throughout his career, Barkley finished with a humble tone.

“Basketball doesn’t owe me anything, I owe everything in my life to basketball, everything,” Barkley said. “I’m 37 years old. I’m rich beyond my wildest dreams. I have great material things. I’ve been all over the world and it’s all because of basketball.”

Barkley, the fifth player chosen in the 1984 NBA draft, averaged 22.2 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 1,072 games and was the league’s most valuable player in 1992-93.