Charles Barkey once told JJ Redick he was 'just too small' and would have to switch to playing point guard if he wanted to make it in the NBA

• Charles Barkley didn't think JJ Redick would have what it took to play shooting guard in the NBA.
• On his podcast, Redick recalled his story of meeting Barkley for the first time before entering the league. Barkley told him he was "just too small."
• Redick said that he thought at the time that he would find a way to make it work. Now in his 14th NBA season, it's clear he did.
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JJ Redick has played 14 seasons in the NBA. In that time, he's established himself as one of the premier sharpshooters in the league, a skill that has helped him remain a huge asset to teams set on making a postseason run year after year.

But before he entered the league, Redick had a few doubters, one of them being Charles Barkley.

Speaking on The Ringer's "The JJ Redick Podcast," Redick recalled the time he first met Barkley before he had officially joined the league. Redick had gone to Philadelphia to meet with 76ers general manager Billy King ahead of the draft. After their interview, King took Redick out to dinner, where they ran into Barkley, who was sitting at the bar.

King introduced the two, and apparently, Barkley wasted no time in making his feelings about Redick's prospects known.

"Barkley was sitting at the bar. He was having a burger at the bar," Redick said. "Billy went and introduced me to him, and Barkley was like, 'Hey man, there's no way you're going to be able to be a two-guard in the NBA.' I said, 'Okay.' And he said, 'You need to be a point guard.' I said, 'Okay.' He said, 'You're just too small.'"

Redick is listed as 6-foot-3 by the NBA.

"And I remember thinking to myself, 'What? Why do I have to change positions? I'll make it work.'"

The comment on Redick's size is pretty funny coming from Barkley, who, as a 6'6" Hall of Fame power forward, should know as well as anybody that size doesn't necessarily tell the whole story when it comes to NBA basketball.

Redick laughed off the end of the story, and with good reason — now one of the league's longest-tenured players, it's clear he made it work.

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