Charles Barkley pulled no punches during Sixers’ wild 1990 division clincher

BOB GALBRAITH / Associated Press

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Charles Barkley during his 76ers days.

By BUCKS COUNTY COURIER TIMES |

PUBLISHED: May 25, 2020 at 4:10 p.m. | UPDATED: May 26, 2020 at 3:02 p.m.

Editor’s note: Looking back at unforgettable moments in 76ers history.

The 76ers were on the verge of clinching the Atlantic Division title against the defending NBA champion Pistons and Detroit didn’t like it. Pistons coach Chuck Daly called a pair of timeouts in the final minute of the April 19, 1990, game at The Palace of Auburn Hills despite trailing by double digits.

“They didn’t want this kind of celebration on their home floor,” said Sixers center Mike Gminski as the champagne flowed afterward. Something had to give — and did it ever.

First, the Pistons’ Isiah Thomas took a swing at former Detroit “Bad Boy” Rick Mahorn, who formed the Sixers’ “Thump and Bump” tandem with Charles Barkley, with about four minutes remaining. Mahorn just laughed as Thomas was ejected. Mahorn drove for the exclamation-point dunk with 14 seconds left in the Sixers’ 107-97 victory and was fouled by Dennis Rodman.

Pistons instigator Bill Laimbeer ran up, jammed the ball against Mahorn’s chest and they pushed each other. Barkley came over and shoved Laimbeer. They briefly separated, then Barkley ducked his head and threw a left that landed prior to Laimbeer connecting with a right uppercut. Players from both teams intervened and a bunch of players went to the ground.

The officials, led by veteran Jake O’Donnell, tried desperately to maintain some semblance of order. In the chaos of the situation, good friends and former teammates Mahorn and James Edwards, who had driven to the game together, nearly came to blows.

As Laimbeer and Detroit teammate Scott Hastings — who attacked Barkley when Barkley was down — headed past the Sixers’ bench on the way to the Detroit locker room due to their ejections, Laimbeer exchanged words with several players, including Ron Anderson, and Laimbeer tried to get at the Philly bench before O’Donnell pushed Laimbeer away.

Charles Barkley during his 76ers days.

A Pistons’ fan threw a punch at Barkley, who declined to press assault charges, and another hurled champagne on him. Barkley tried to go in the Pistons’ locker room afterward, but O’Donnell stopped him. It was this close to becoming completely out of control.

Barkley, who led the Sixers with 36 points and 15 rebounds, had a mark over his eye and on his cheek but was euphoric when he spoke to us. “This is the greatest feeling I’ve ever experienced as a basketball player,” Barkley said. “I won two titles tonight. I won the division title with my teammates and I retained my undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.”

Barkley had antagonized Laimbeer beforehand by sending a ballboy to deliver a hand-written note that read: “Bill. (Forget) you. Charles Barkley.” Earlier in the season, Barkley also said he’d been trying to get Laimbeer to fight for years. Afterward, Laimbeer, sporting a black eye, said, “(What Barkley says) is insignificant. Nobody cares about him because he’s a loser. Nothing he says is intelligible anyway.”

One of the Detroit Pistons’ Bad Boys, Bill Laimbeer was the bully that angered fans and fellow players all over.

“I hit him with a nice left,” Barkley responded. “I was on the bottom of the pile and on top of Laimbeer. I got some good punches in. I’m the baddest (guy) around.” On the commercial flight home the next morning, Barkley told Sixers beat writers — these were the pre-private charter days — that he expected to be suspended for what amounted to a meaningless regular-season finale against the Celtics and fined $10,000.

He was close — he received one game and a $20,000 fine — but returned for the playoff opener against the Cavaliers. The Sixers and Pistons didn’t end up meeting in the 1990 playoffs, which might have been a blessing. Detroit, which went 59-23 in the regular season, won its second straight title by defeating the Trail Blazers 4-1 in the Finals.

The Sixers (53-29) lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls (55-27) in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals, then Detroit edged Chicago 4-3 in the conference finals. Believe it or not, the Sixers have only won the Atlantic Division twice since the 1982-83 championship season — in 1989-90 and again in 2000-01, when they reached the NBA Finals. The franchise may have earned other division titles, but no Sixers’ clinching victory can match the fireworks of 1990.

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Tom Moore is a columnist for the Bucks County Courier Times: He can be reached at: tmoore@couriertimes.com; @TomMoorePhilly.