Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley shared a very playful friendship during their playing days in the NBA and for a while after. Their relationship soured in later years, but they were good buddies back in the day, even when they were competing against one another for championships in the league.
Barkley and MJ would face one another in the 1993 NBA Finals when the Chicago Bulls beat the Phoenix Suns, but MJ had already won two championships before then. His 1992 win came against the Portland Trail Blazers led by Clyde Drexler. The matchup between Jordan and Drexler was hyped up quite a bit in the leadup to the series, but Jordan came out the victor, as he did so often in the 90s.
But what’s interesting about it is that Charles Barkley, long before he was making guarantees, had predicted that the Blazers would beat the Bulls. And in typical MJ fashion, the GOAT had an epic response to that.
Ernie Johnson: “Now earlier tonight, Charles Barkley said here that he kinda liked Portland Trail Blazers if it came down to Portland and Chicago. And you knew that word of that would get back to somebody. Bob Neal mentioned it to Michael Jordan. Here’s the results.”
Michael Jordan: “I know Charles is trying to drive me crazy. He’s trying to make me competitive, and I appreciate that Charles. What a great friend!”
Michael Jordan thrived on people doubting him and Barkley likely knew exactly what he was doing when he made this particular comment. The result was a good one, with Jordan averaging 35 points per game in the 4-2 series win. He picked up the Finals MVP and his second ring and also got to prove Barkley wrong along the way. Another excellent example of why provoking Michael Jordan was always a bad idea.
