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Charles Barkley took a while in the Thursday edition of Inside the NBA To honor his former Suns teammate, Oliver Miller, who died last week at the age of 54.
Barkley and Miller, who had been fighting cancer, passed two seasons together in Phoenix and arrived at the NBA finals together in 1992-93, Miller's rookie year.
And after the news of his death, Barkley praised former 6 -foot player 9 known as 'Big O.'
'A child so small, big child. It has been a difficult week for the NBA family, “said Barkley, who is 62 years old.
'But Oliver, man, was a great child. We would not have reached the final without Oliver Miller. We would not have arrived there. He was an excellent pin, he had these strange long arms: he played larger than his size. But he was a great child and man, 53-54 who is too young to die. ''
While Miller's Alma Mater, Arkansas, did not refer to a cause of death when announcing his death, the school had previously announced during an event in honor of his 1990 Final Four team that Miller had cancer.
Charles Barkley and Oliver Miller were teammates for two seasons at the Phoenix Suns
Barkley took a moment to praise Miller in the Thursday edition of Inside the NBA
Miller helped Arkansas advance to the Final Four before playing nine seasons in the NBA
Miller helped Arkansas advance to the Final Four in 1990 before playing nine seasons in the NBA, where he averaged 7.4 points and 5.9 rebounds for competition for his career.
The center, which exceeded 300 pounds during his career in the NBA, played for the Suns, Pistons, Raptors, Mavericks, Kings and Timberwolves.
Miller was recruited by Phoenix in 1992 with General National Team No. 22.
At the University, he averaged 12.2 points and 6.5 rebounds in four seasons, helping the team of the Naismith Hall of Fame, Nolan Richardson, the 1989-90 team to reach the last four before losing to Duke and win the honors of the player of the year of the southwest conference in 1991.
Unfortunately, as Barkley referred to, Miller's death was not the only loss experienced by the NBA community last week.
Junior Bridgeman, the former player and owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, died at 71 on Tuesday after a reported heart attack.
Barkley also presented his respects to Bridgeman inside the NBA while praising his commercial insight.
The former Bucks and Clippers star enjoyed a tremendous commercial success outside the court after her career as a player, becoming a billionaire with her franchise of fast food and bottling restaurants of Coca-Cola products.