Charles Barkley is looking to do some good things in his hometown of Leeds, Alabama. The NBA legend was recently on WJOX 94.5 and he said he’s planning to sell his NBA MVP trophy and memorabilia from the 1992 Dream Team so he can use the money to fund affordable housing in Leeds.
“We probably got 30 eyesores, as I call them, where houses used to be when I was growing up. Either a rotted-out house or there’s just weeds that have overgrown,” Barkley said per USA Today. “So, what I’m trying to do — I want to work with the city of Leeds, I want them to give me the spaces, number one. I want them to give me the houses, and I’m going to use my own money selling my memorabilia.
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“I want to do something really nice for Leeds. And if I could build 10 to 20 affordable houses — I want to do green housing too — (and) if I could sell all that stuff, it would just be a really cool thing for me.”
When it comes to the memorabilia, Barkley only wants to keep his 1992 Olympic gold medal because his daughter wants it. Other than that, Barkley is selling everything else.
“I got an autograph deal with Panini and I was talking to the guys,” Barkley explained, “cause all that stuff is at my grandmother’s house, I don’t even keep it to be honest with you — and I said, ‘How much could I get for my MVP trophy and my two gold medals? And I got an autographed plaque signed by the first original Dream Team.’ He says, ‘Oh I can get you a lot of money for that stuff.’”
Barkley has plenty of memorabilia to sell as he put together a Hall of Fame career. He was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and the Houston Rockets from 1984-2000. He won the NBA MVP award in 1993 in his first season with the Suns and he was named All-Star Game MVP in 1991. Barkley was named to the All-Star team 11 times and he was named to the All-NBA First Team five times. His No. 34 jersey is retired by the Suns and 76ers and he was named to the 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
