Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley are two of the biggest NBA superstars of the 1990s. Such was Jordan’s dominance though that Barkley was never able to win a championship during that era. He made it to the NBA Finals in 1993 with the opportunity to deny Michael his first three-peat, but the Round Mound of Rebound and his Phoenix Suns fell short of their goal.
Charles Barkley was MVP of the league in 1993, the best player in the world at the time. The Chicago Bulls hadn’t completely achieved their aura of invincibility yet, so Barkley felt like he could lead his team to a championship against them. But as he admitted, Game 1 proved to be too intense for them, and by the time Game 2 came around, he was ready to give it back to Michael Jordan and the Bulls.
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“So we come out for Game 1, and the way I normally did it was, I normally tried to get everybody involved in Game 1 at home… So Game 1, I was like I need to get these guys started.
“Game 1 I was little passive, they beat us. Game 2, I said f**k this sh*t, I’m going for it. And I said, whatever it takes. I come out and I’m so f**king aggressive, but Michael know I’m aggressive… I still finished with like 48, 49, with 26 somewhere in there. But Michael f**kin had like 55. That motherf**ker would not let me win that game.”
Charles Barkley was undoubtedly incredible in his prime, but Michael Jordan made it clear that he was simply better. The Bulls won Game 2 and went on to close the series in 6 games, and the rest is history. But the incident also taught Charles Barkley something really interesting.
Charles Barkley Told His Daughter He Wasn’t The Best Player In The World After Losing To Michael Jordan In Game 2
Every legendary NBA player got to the top by believing they were the best ever. But ultimately, there can only be one GOAT, and Barkley explained to his daughter after that loss how he finally felt like he might not be the best.
“And I remember going home. And when I got home my daughter was upset. And I’d told her before, ‘Ain’t nobody in the world better than your dad at basketball and we gonna win this f**king series.’ When I got home she was crying. And she says, ‘Dad I thought you told me you were gonna win.’ And I said, ‘Christiana, I ain’t never said this before, I think there’s somebody better at basketball than me.'”
That difference is what separates Michael Jordan from the rest of the greats; his competitive fire never allowed him to lose in the biggest moments. And Charles Barkley realizing that in real-time is honestly quite a wild moment. Ultimately, that duel will always be remembered as one of the greatest in the game’s history.
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