Charles Barkley was about to be a Laker and he wanted to celebrate.
It was 1992 and Barkley’s time in Philadelphia was coming to an end; meanwhile, the post-Showtime Lakers needed another star (they still have James Worthy but needed much more). The two teams got together and a trade was nearly done. Barkley started drinking to celebrate… until everything fell through.
Barkley loves telling this story. He first told it to Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated five years ago, then retold it on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2018.