The NBA 2K series is one of the world's most popular in video games. Charles Barkley is one of the NBA's all-time greats. The two seem like a great fit, but Charles "Chuck" Barkley is not in NBA 2K, and many wonder why. Recently he answered this question with a thought-provoking answer.
Barkley is a hall of fame basketball legend. With players like Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the late Kobe Bryant being in NBA 2K over the years, it would make sense for Chuck to be among them. But he is not, and in a recent interview, Barkley claims that he will never change his mind.
Charles claims that 2K receives $300 million dollars a year for NBA 2K, and that the legacy players who are added to the game are paid "chump change" for their likeness. But Barkley isn't trying to ask for a higher amount for himself, he wants the older retired players to be paid by 2K. Charles has refused to be in the game until the older generation, much older than himself, gets paid. Charles knows that the NBA is well off today, but players that came before him were not as fortunate in how they were paid for playing the game.
Give the old retired players a million dollars and I will be in the game.
The other heartening aspect of the video is that the question was asked by a very young fan, as Barkley was taking questions on a virtual meeting from fans about anything from what it was like to play vs Michael Jordan to this NBA 2K question. The fact that Barkley seems to care about both the well-being of older retired players and a very young audience shows his strong character. Barkley is still a very prominent force in the NBA today, as even though he played decades ago, he is one of the analysts on the very popular Inside the NBA program on TNT.
Fans young and old know who Chuck is thanks to his hall of fame status and media presence. Many would love to play as the Pheonix Suns and 76ers legend in the well-received NBA 2K21. But it looks like he will not be making an appearance any time soon.