Charles Barkley is doubtful rift with former 'brother' Michael Jordan will end
Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan's friendship has suffered ever since Barkley criticized Jordan in a 2012 radio interview for how he ran the Charlotte Hornets franchise as an owner.
Barkley said the two have been distant and he's felt Jordan has held a grudge against him – essentially ending a longtime relationship.
"The guy was like a brother to me for, shoot, 20-something years," Barkley said Tuesday on ESPN radio's "The Waddle and Silvy Show." "At least 20-something years. And I do, I feel sadness. But to me, he's still the greatest basketball player ever. I wish him nothing but the best. But, there's nothing I can do about it, brother."
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Barkley said in 2012 that Jordan had too many people-pleasers around him and that it negatively affected his ability as an owner. The Hornets have made the playoffs just twice since Jordan became majority owner in 2010.
"Listen, if you're famous, and Michael at one point was the most famous person in the world, everybody around you is either on the payroll or letting you buy drinks and dinner and flying around on your private jet," Barkley said Tuesday. "Very few of your friends are going to be honest with you. And that's very hard for any celebrity, but especially somebody of his stature."
Jordan and Barkley played on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team and competed against each other, most notably in the 1993 NBA Finals when Barkley was the regular-season MVP with the Phoenix Suns. Their meeting in the Finals was a main topic in Episode 6 of "The Last Dance" documentary about Jordan and the Bulls.
Barkley is doubtful the Hall of Famers' friendship would be reconciled anytime soon, quipping: "Oh, he got my number. He can call me."
Barkley was frustrated that his comments seemingly ticked off Jordan enough to cause a rift because he felt obliged to be critical as part of his job in the media. Jordan has not publicly addressed his relationship with Barkley.
"The thing that bothered me the most about that whole thing, I don't think that I said anything that bad," Barkley said. "I'm pretty sure I said, 'As much as I love Michael, until he stops hiring them kiss-asses, and his best friends, he's never going to be successful as a general manager.' And I remember pretty much verbatim I said that. And the thing that really pissed me off about it later is Phil Jackson said the exact same thing.
But I thought that was one of the reasons we were great friends. Like, 'I can ask Charles anything and I know he's going to give me a straight answer.' But part of my job (as an analyst) is, because I can't go on TV and say, 'Another general manager sucks' and then just because Michael's like a brother to me say, 'He's doing a fantastic job.' That would be disingenuous."
For a glimpse at how close Jordan and Barkley once were, here's a look at a 2005 Oprah Winfrey episode that captures their bond:
