Charles Barkley recently appeared in a podcast All the Smoke hosted by former NBA players – Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. The 59-year-old spilled some beans regarding his last conversation with the former Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan that ended their friendship.
Barkley revealed that Jordan went ballistic after an initial disagreement on the former’s remarks of Jordan’s ownership of Charlotte Bobcats, now Hornets.
For the unversed, Barkley is a former NBA player who now plies his trade as an analyst on CBS and TNT Sports. Both Barkley and Jordan made their way to the NBA in the same season. While 5x MVP was acquired by the Chicago Bulls, Barkley went No. 5 to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1984 Draft. They played together for Team USA but as per reports haven’t spoken to each other for quite a while.
What did Charles Barkley say to Michael Jordan?
“He called me and the last thing I heard was ‘Motherf—-er, f— you. You’re supposed to be my boy.’ I said ‘Man, I gotta do my job.’ We haven’t spoken since that night,” stated the Alabama born.
Recollecting his remarks, Barkley observed he had warned the NBA star of his future. “I said I don’t know if he’s ever going to be successful because of the people around him. I think he hires too many of his friends. I probably would say, ‘What I said, I believed. I’m sorry you took offense to it. And let’s get past this bulls–t and get back to playing golf and having fun,” opined Barkley.
“The hardest thing about being famous is that you’re paying all the bills, they’re on your private jet, and they’re not going to tell you when you’re doing something wrong,” reasoned the former Houston Rockets’ player.
Jordan became a majority owner of Hornets in 2010 after a $275 million purchase before which he was minority owner since 2006. Earlier this year he sold his majority stake to a group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, but kept a minority share in the team. The $3 billion valued franchise only made to the playoffs twice under Jordan.
On being asked about “the light at the end of the tunnel,” Barkley recounted that Jordan was his best friend at that time, and it’s up to the latter to decide if they can mend their friendship. He also commented that Jordan had his phone number and could have taken the first step in bridging the gap.
