Charles Barkley Says NBA Had Bounties When He Played

Former NBA star Charles Barkley told the Dan Patrick Show that the NBA had a bounty system back when he played.

"We were getting beat by 30 points, back in my Philadelphia [76ers] days," Barkley remembered. "I'm a firm believer, if a guy shoots a three, that you knock his ass as far in the stands as you possibly can. We were getting beat by 30 or 40, I can't remember. This guy was shooting threes and running up and down the court. I said, 'Hey, we've got to hurt that guy right there.'"

Barkley told Patrick he put the bounty on the player, who he refused to identify, at $5,000. He also said that regardless of the situation, such offers should stay inside of the locker room, and should never be leaked to the league or the media.

"People are clearly going to overreact to the bounty thing," he said. "You have to be a punk to snitch that out. That's like giving a reporter an anonymous quote."