NBA legend Charles Barkley could have been a Los Angeles Laker.

One of the greatest power forwards ever to play the game, Barkley’s chequered career spanned 16 seasons with Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston.

But it might have been a different story, had a done-deal between the 76ers and Lakers not been nixed.

THE MICHAEL JORDAN TRADES THAT ALMOST HAPPENED

Younger NBA Fans will know the Hall of Famer more as the colourful analyst on Inside the NBA, but those who grew up during his playing era will remember him dominating the court.

Barkley’s heyday was spent in Phoenix, where he won the 1993 NBA MVP award and his Suns lost to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the finals.

But, back in early 1992, a trade from the 76ers to the Lakers was all but done.

The 6ers wanted the polarising figure, who was infamously difficult to deal with, out the door and were desperate to find a deal.

Barkley had released a book at the time that criticised 76ers hierarchy, including then owner Harold Katz, and trashed several of his teammates.

With the Lakers, left floundering by the demise of the Showtime era, times were desperate and Barkley could have been part of the marquee franchise’s rejuvenation, had the mooted trade for James Worthy (and other bits and pieces), been consummated.

And It’s believed that the face of the franchise, Magic Johnson, tried to get his 1992 Dream Team teammate across.

While he publicly denied it at the time, Johnson reportedly phoned Barkley and asked him if he’d be interested in playing for the Lakers.

‘Barkley said he was. Johnson indicated that the deal was alive and that he would try to help get it done.’ the Philadelphia Inquirer reported at the time.

Barkley has since said the trade was a done-deal for about three hours.

“Yeah. The Sixers backed out,” he recalled to Sports Illustrated last year.

“I get a call from my agent one morning and he said, ‘Philly has traded you to the Lakers.’

“So I went to lunch and started drinking.

“I’m f***ing so excited that I am going to the Lakers.”

Barkley was someone who didn’t mind a beer or seven throughout his career and, after the deal was nixed, he decided he would play that night.

“Three hours later I get a f***ing phone call from my agent saying that the Sixers backed out of the deal,” he said.

“I said, ‘Oh, s**t, I’m feeling pretty good right now.’

“So I went out and played that night.

“I played pretty well. I wasn’t blasted, just a couple of drinks at lunch.”

To give you an idea of how Barkley was viewed by NBA pundits, consider this from Sacramento Kings then-player-personnel director:

“He’s one of the five best players in the world,” Reynolds said at the time.

“You know he’s crazy, but that’s part of the package.

“And most of the players in the league are pains in the ass.

“So why not have one who is a legitimate winner?”

The Sixers eventually dealt Barkley to the Suns later that year for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang.

We all know who won that deal.

You have to wonder what would have happened if Chuck became a Laker.

Would he still be known as one of the greatest players never to win an NBA title?

Would they have still ended up with Kobe Bryant?

Probably... this is the Lakers we’re talking about.