Charles Barkley is always good for a quote.
Such was the case at a recent celebrity baseball game in Texas, where the former NBA star recalled his first meeting with Dirk Nowitzki when he was touring Germany with a group of NBA stars in 1997. Nowitzki, 18 at the time, was having his way with noted defensive stopper Scottie Pippen, dropping "like 52" points, according to Barkley.
Barkley then approached the young German and asked him, "Dude, who the hell are you?" Upon his return to the States, Barkley called Nike and told the company to tell Nowitzki that Barkley would give him "anything he wants" to attend Auburn, Sir Charles' alma mater.
Although Barkley was laughing when he made the comments — which also included a reference to former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton's pay-for-play scandal — there is likely some truth to the story. Even so, a famous athlete lobbying a young star to attend his school hardly counts for a shocking revelation these days in collegiate athletics.
Check out the video below to see Barkley's full story.
