Curious what other think.
Who is better Charles Barkley or KG?
For me its Barkley and that is pretty easy for me. But I do think its fairly close. Switch eras do you think KG is just as good going up against the 90's bigs and facing off against those guys? Do you think Barkleys game would translate to more modern game?
I think both of them would translate to any time.
Defense: KG>Chuck
KG was a great defender and good enough to cover-up for teammates on that side. On the other hand, Sir Charles during his peak years is generally thought of as an average defender, even though his teams were always better when he was on the floor. Chuck struggled a bit in the post, but had VERY quick feet and crazy long arms so he could stay in-front of players, contest shots, and ended possessions with elite rebounding ("Round Mound of Rebound" is one of the greatest names ever). I think of Barkley as a neutral on defense, if surrounded with bad defenders the team will be bad, if surrounded with elite defenders the team will be elite.
Offense:Barkley>KG
IMO Barkley was a better overall offensive player, but that doesn't mean he was better than KG at everything.
The most obvious advantage was fast break. Barkley is on of the best transition scorers ever, and his rebounding led to a lot of fast breaks (he could rebound and go, or outlet and go).
Barkley was a more natural scorer and better at forcing the issue. If you needed a basket, he could get the ball and make something happen.
KG was a better passer.
KG was a better mid-range shooter.
Barkley was a much better floor spacer because he had way more gravity and also was a willing (if bad) 3 pt shooter. KG flat out refused to do so (even though he played in the 3 pt era). Think Giannis vs Ben Simmons.
Overall: Barkley vs Garnett depends on team need and style of play. If I was looking for a #1 offensive player, I would take Barkley. If I needed a defensive anchor and top tier secondary offensive player I would take KG. To demonstrate, let's pretend we could take away a player from top teams and decide if the team would be better replacing them with Charles or KG:
Lakers w/out LeBron: I would take Sir Charles
Lakers w/out AD: I would take KG
Jazz w/out Gobert: I would take KG
Jazz w/out Mitchell: I would take Barkley
Bucks w/out Giannis: I would take Barkley
Houston w/out Harden: I would take Barkley
Clippers w/out Kawhi: I would probably take Barkley
Clippers w/out PG: I would take KG