Charles Barkley insists he washed the NBA uniform in the shower

Charles Barkley continues to be a riot.

Barkley was holding court with Greg Gumbel, Clark Kellogg and Kenny Smith on CBS/Turner’s NCAA Tournament coverage Friday, and Sir Charles burst into a legendary aside on how he used to wash his own NBA uniform in the shower.

The anecdote began with Barkley, 60, throwing a bone at the equipment managers.

“Well done to all the coaches and the guys who wear all the uniforms,” ​​Barkley said.

“To clean these uniforms and everything – I’m so old, we used to shower in our uniforms.”

Kenny Smith interrupted: “Time out. There’s never been a time when you did that. You make this up. There’s no way you have to wash your uniform. You make this up. No sane person has ever done that.

Barkley insisted it was true.

“When I first came to the NBA, we had a commercial flight,” said Barkley, who was drafted fifth overall by the 76ers in 1984.

“So when you played the night before and flew the next morning, when exactly were you going to wash your uniform? You had to wash your uniform yourself.

“So after the game, when you got to your room, you showered in your uniform and dried it off and dropped it off on the commercial plane the next day.”

Clark Kellogg weighed in, saying, “You can clean your uniform without showering.”

Smith supported Kellogg, telling Barkley that “you don’t need to have it on” to clean it.

Nonetheless, Barkley, who The Post reported was considering a show on CNN, persisted.

“No, but it’s easier to do it that way,” he says.

Based on Barkley’s insistence, it seems reasonable to conclude that he was not making this story up.

It’s crazy to think back to a day in the NBA when players flew commercial planes and were responsible for cleaning their own uniforms, but apparently that wasn’t that long ago.