Charles Barkley’s last Al McCoy story will leave you with wet eyes

Al McCoy was the voice of the Phoenix Suns for 51 years, but he lived and breathed Suns basketball until his death last month.

Need more proof than this? Before he died in September, McCoy made sure to call two Suns legends to let them know how much they meant to him, according to one of them, Charles Barkley.

“I got a call from (former Suns player and current analyst) Eddie Johnson recently, and he said Al McCoy wanted to talk to me before he died,” Barkley recalled on Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta. “Man, I welled up. (Eddie) said … he only want to talk to two people and say goodbye to ’em. It was me and Devin Booker.

“Man, I’m telling you … it wasn’t a long conversation and he was thanking me and I was like, ‘Nah man, I thank you.’ To get a call saying he wanted to talk to you and say goodbye, it was one of the most amazing moments of my life. And I’ll never forget it.”

Al McCoy made sure to call two Suns legends before he died: Charles Barkley and Devin Booker.

Barkley told @Bickley_Marotta that it meant the world to him to get that call. pic.twitter.com/FAO1VNFOQi

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) October 23, 2024

So if there’s any lack of clarity about which Suns McCoy saw as the icons of the franchise, there it is.

Al McCoy saw Charles Barkley, Devin Booker as Phoenix Suns icons for good reason

Barkley, of course, led Phoenix to the 1993 NBA Finals in his MVP season after landing in Phoenix via a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. He played for the Suns from 1992-96 but still calls the Valley home.

Since his playing days, Barkley had continued to cross paths with McCoy. And Phoenix remains deeply in his heart as well.

“When I leave Phoenix, they going to cremate my fat (expletive),” Barkley joked before getting to his McCoy story. “My (expletive) is so big, I’m like, I want some ashes in Alabama, I want some ashes in Phoenix and I want the rest at a casino in Vegas. We just have to pick out what casino.”

Booker, the Suns’ 2015 first-round pick, is beginning his 10th season in the NBA on Wednesday night.

Like Barkley, he also led the Suns to an NBA Finals appearance (2021) and is quickly moving up the record lists for the franchise as a four-time NBA All-Star.

To Barkley, it said a lot that McCoy saw him in the same light as Booker.

Personally, it meant the world to Barkley when he got the call from McCoy before the legend’s death.

“When I hung up the phone, I actually had tears in my eyes because it was so special to me,” Barkley said. “Because like I said, I only played in Phoenix for four years. … but for him to want to say goodbye to me meant the world to me.

“I don’t know Devin that well. He’s a hell of a player, he must be a great kid. But man when I got that call, it meant the world to me. I just want to say ‘thank you’ to Al and his family.”

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