Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan were two of the most dominant NBA players in the 90s. They won MVPs, faced off in the NBA Finals, and even shared the court to bring home the gold in the 1992 Olympics.
Despite their rivalry on the court, they grew a strong relationship and a close friendship. They hung out together, got drinks together, and were often spotted hitting the golf course and going against each other.
However, Barkleyâs criticism of Jordanâs actions in charge of the Charlotte Hornets eventually led them to end their friendship. At least, thatâs how the Phoenix Suns superstar thinks it all went down.
NBA News: Charles Barkley Explains Why He Doesnât Talk To Michael Jordan Anymore
âI think probably, me and Michael [Jordan] were best friends, thatâs probably the most prominent thing,â Barkley said on the âLetâs Go!â podcast.âMichael Jordan, losing his friendship was probably the most prominent thing thatâs happened to me. But I was being honest about what I thought. I said, âListen, the toughest thing about Michael, heâs got to put better people around him.â Because the toughest thing, when youâre famous, theyâre on your private jet, youâre buying all the drinks, youâre buying all the dinners. Very few people are gonna be honest with youâ.
âI try to surround myself with people like, âhey, if Iâm screwing up, please tell me.â And Michael got offended about something I said about him. And we havenât spoken in probably almost 10 years,â Chuck added. âAnd he was my best friend at the time. And I love the dude like a brother and weâre both stubborn and we havenât talked.â
At the end of the day, Barkleyâs job is to talk about those things, so Jordan should know better. Hopefully, one day theyâll be able to talk things through and go back to being the close friends they used to be.





