Charles Barkley Named His Top 3 NBA Shot-Blockers

Alonzo Mourning is one of the most underrated players of his generation. The Miami Heat legend was a dominant force in the paint for 15 years, peaking around the turn of the century.

Mourning won two straight Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1999 and 2000, leading the league with 3.9 and 3.9 blocks per game respectively.

Charles based much of his list on players he actually competed against, specifically who made him look over his shoulder when going into the paint. Mourning was certainly one of those guys.

Mark Eaton

Credit: © RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

No one in NBA history has averaged more blocks per game than Mark Eaton. The “Man Mountain” was listed at a staggering 7 foot 4, 295 pounds and used all of that height to intimidate opponents in the paint.

It surely worked, as Eaton led the league in blocks on four separate occasions, including a league record 5.6 blocks during the 1984-85 season.

The Inglewood, California native spent his whole career with the Utah Jazz and finished it second all-time in blocks behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Eaton is certainly a welcomed addition to this top 3.

Dikembe Mutombo

Like Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo is another Georgetown legend, whose Hall of Fame career largely revolved around his defensive prowess.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo native had the NBA’s most iconic shot-blocking celebration, the finger wag, and had plenty of opportunities to use it.

Mutombo had 3289 career blocked shots, which is still second all-time, and was the first player ever to win four Defensive Player of the Year awards.

During his 18 years in the association, Dikembe was first in blocks three times, posting a career-high average of 4.5 in 1996. Barkley and Mutombo faced off more than 20 times in their decorated careers, with the legendary center averaging 3.7 blocks during these matchups.

Along with his extraordinary non-profit work, Dikembe made himself into a cultural icon with his ability to protect the rim.

Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal had a hilarious back-and-forth about this list

Of course, there are some noteworthy exclusions from Barkley’s list. Even in regard to his own era, Hakeem Olajuwon is the all-time leader in blocked shots, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Patrick Ewing, and David Robinson could’ve also been included.

Shaquille O’Neal, however, wanted to see whether he was under any consideration for this top 3. After all, the all-time great center does rank eighth overall in this category.

Barkley and O’Neal subsequently had one of their best on-air exchanges, which sums up why this show continues to be as popular as ever.

“Shaquille O’Neal: ‘Can you put me on that list?’

Charles Barkley: ‘No. You’re not a defender.’

Shaquille O’Neal: ‘I wasn’t a shot blocker?’

Charles Barkley: ‘You wasn’t.’

Shaquille O’Neal: ‘Bro, I’m in the top 10.’

Charles Barkley: ‘No, no, you wasn’t a shot blocker. … You are just big and ugly. But that’s another story for another time.'”

Overall, despite some of these noteworthy exclusions, this is one of Barkley’s better lists.