With the much-hyped and heavily anticipated ESPN documentary ‘The Last Dance’ getting closer and closer, a wave of current and former figures in the NBA community are chiming in to give their thoughts on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley is the latest to join the long list. Unlike others, however, Chuck’s is not so much on the greatness of Jordan or the Bulls’ iconic dynasty, but rather the unfortunate gap that developed between him and Jordan.
Barkley recently guested on David Aldridge’s Hoops, Adjacent podcast, and talked on the matter when it inevitably came up.
“We were great friends forever … I miss Michael. I love Michael. I wish him nothing but the best. He’s the greatest basketball player ever. But obviously he didn’t take kindly to some things I said about his management skills, and that’s unfortunate. But I’ve got to do my job …”
Jordan and Barkley’s friendship grew after becoming teammates during the 1984 Olympics, which they did again in the legendary 1992 Olympic Dream Team. They also had tough battles in the NBA playoffs three separate times (1990, 1991, and 1993), all of which were won by Jordan.
As you know, following their retirement from basketball, Jordan became a team executive and Barkley grew into one of the most beloved broadcasters in all of sports.
It’s no secret that Jordan’s skills on the court and in the front office couldn’t be more different. Between his managerial tenures with the Washington Wizards (2000-2001) and Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets (2006-present), both as President of Basketball Operations and majority owner, respectively, he has only drafted one All-Star to date: Kemba Walker – and he jumped ship this past off-season because the Hornets gave such a lowball offer.
Outside of Walker is a host of touted talents that never fully panned out: Adam Morrison, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, Noah Vonleh, Frank Kaminsky, and Malik Monk.
In the interview, Barkley also clarified that the past comments were never directly about Jordan, and that it mostly pertained towards his staff.
“It’s unfortunate the way things went down. But I’m going to always try to do my job, and actually, my criticism was about the people around him. … I thought the people he hired around him were too many yes men. That was actually my statement, to be honest. I thought the people around him, they wanted the private jet. They wanted the steak dinner. They were always going to be yes men.”
Barkley’s longtime Inside the NBA co-host Kenny Smith, who was also Jordan’s teammate at the University of North Carolina, was able to bridge a reunion between the two back in 2016. They even took a photo and everyone was all smiles. But obviously, judging by Chuck’s comments and how he sees the relationship, it looks like things didn’t fully heal.
Maybe they’ve still got time to mend their friendship. Until then, here’s a reminder of the better times between Chuck and MJ:
