Charles Barkley reflects on his relationship with recently deceased Paul Silas: “You keep yelling, I'm gonna come punch you in your head”

Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, like much of the NBA community, was recently hit with the unfortunate news of longtime player and coach Paul Silas' death. When the NBA community learned on Dec. 10 that the three-time champion had died, messages of support began to pour out for Silas' family, which was understandably shocked.

Players from Michael Jordan to LeBron James all shared memories from their experiences with Silas. As an absolute workhorse during his time in the league, Silas cemented his place as one of the best rebounders in the sport. At his best, he averaged 13.0 rebounds per game in 1972-73, the year before he won his first championship with the Boston Celtics.

As a coach, Silas coached everyone from Charles Barkley to LeBron James over his 31-year career. During a recent podcast appearance, Barkley spoke about his favorite interaction with Silas during the pair's stint in Phoenix during the 1995-96 season. After explaining that the most important thing Silas taught him was how to judge players, he reflected on a hilarious midgame moment, saying:

"I'm playing awful one night, and I'm down about it and he started screaming, 'Chuck, you're supposed to be a damn superstar. Get your head out your ass and play.' And he keeps going. He says, 'If you're gonna be a superstar, be a superstar.' And I was embarrassed because he yelled at me in front of the team.

"And I said, 'Yo, man, you keep yelling, I'm gonna come punch you in your head,' and he says, 'You got a head, too.' The whole locker room just started laughing. Man, we talked about that all the time. My favorite line: 'You got a head, too.' And I'm gonna miss coach."

You can view Barkley recalling the hilarious situation in the video below. His comments begin just after the 10-minute mark.

Paul Silas' NBA career, does he deserve to be in the Hall of Fame?

One of the things that has become synonymous with Silas when it comes to his playing career is his lack of Hall of Fame enshrinement. With three championships to his name, along with two All-Star appearances, Silas seems to have the accolades to back up his claim.

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Add onto that two All-Defensive first-team appearances and three All-Defensive second-team appearances, and Silas seems worthy of a spot. Despite that, a Hall of Fame enshrinement has eluded him. Basketball-Reference.com puts his HOF probality at 12.7%.

Paul Silas' time spent with Charles Barkley

Silas was an assistant coach on the 1995-96 Phoenix Suns team, where Barkley and Michael Finley struggled to lead the Suns franchise past .500. After a season that saw them go 41-41, the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs then in turn went on to lose to the Utah Jazz, who lost in the conference finals to the Seattle SuperSonics.

Below you can view an old video of Barkley absolutely cooking against the Miami Heat that season.

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