Charles Barkley has delivered plenty of unforgettable quotes throughout his career, but his latest reveal may rank near the top.
During a recent appearance on the ManningCast, the former NBA star casually mentioned that he stopped wearing underwear decades ago—and he’s very committed to that lifestyle choice.
Barkley, now 62, explained that sometime in the early years of his playing career, he made a decision that stuck.
“Yeah, I realized that underwear was not a necessity,” he told hosts Peyton and Eli Manning. He didn’t simply stop buying them; he dramatically got rid of what he already owned. “I burned all of my underwear about 30 years ago. It was a big fire, too. I’m always going commando.”
The Manning brothers had already prepared a surprise gift: a pair of white briefs decorated with their faces. Eli held them up on camera, admitting that he had planned to send them before learning Barkley’s stance on underwear. He asked if the retired forward still wanted them.
Barkley didn’t blink. He just suggested a new purpose for the garment. “Definitely! You know what? I will put that on my wall,” he said. He promised that if both Mannings signed the briefs, they would receive a spot of honor somewhere in his home.
For longtime Barkley watchers, the revelation wasn’t entirely new. He first discussed his no-underwear preference publicly years ago, after Shaquille O’Neal joked about Barkley “arriving on TV” without wearing any.
According to E! News, Barkley addressed it during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, explaining that where he grew up, people didn’t view underwear as essential. He said then that he had gone about a decade without wearing any and felt completely fine about it.
The basketball Hall of Famer’s comfort level extends to his current role in sports broadcasting as well. Last summer, he announced plans to step away from his longtime work as an analyst for TNT Sports, where he has been part of some of the most recognizable NBA studio programming on television. One month later, he reversed course, saying he wasn’t ready to leave the people he works with. “My No. 1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible,” he said at the time.