["Basketball owes me nothing, my whole life is owed to basketball."
"I am 37 years old, and my wealth has exceeded my wildest dreams."
"When I entered the League in 1984, I just wanted to make a million dollars for my grandmother, work here for ten years and then retire, and find a high school as a basketball coach."
"Now, I have material wealth, many people know me, I have been to many places around the world, and all of this is thanks to basketball."
"Now that I have a championship trophy, I think I can die without regrets."
On that night of celebration after Game 5 of the finals in June 2000, many people may have overlooked that it was not just Sunny Gan's retirement battle, but also Charles Barkley's last game.
Of course, Barkley didn't care, he enjoyed the championship, champagne, and beer in the locker room, drenched all over, hugging the trophy in front of the locker, and expressing his romance with basketball.
