The relationship between Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan abruptly ended after the former criticized his friend’s decision as an executive. The Chicago Bulls legend hasn’t successfully managed teams, which earned him a lot of criticism in recent years.
However, while things were still good between the two legends, Jordan and Barkley exchanged shots on live TV right after the then Washington Wizards president of basketball operations drafted Kwame Brown as the first overall pick in 2001.
MJ was very excited to get a player like Brown, making it clear the team believed they would get a terrific talent whose ceiling was still unknown.
“We feel like we have a quality kid and his potential is unbelievable,” Jordan said, via The Washington Post. “We don’t know what this kid is capable of doing, that’s the beauty of why we drafted him. We don’t know. In a couple of years he may be a star.”
“We did this draft as if I was nowhere around,” Jordan said. “I was doing my job for what the Wizards pay me to do, which is to evaluate talent and try to put together the best basketball team possible. If I decide to play it’s only going to add to what’s happening.”
Right after he talked with John Thompson, Jordan and the TNT crew had a little chat. When Ernie Johnson asked him about his ribs, MJ revealed he was feeling better.
“My ribs are feeling a lot better,” he said, via ESPN.
Then, Charles Barkley chimed in, saying he was glad to know that since MJ had been talking about him for weeks. Jordan had a big comeback ready, reminding Chuck that he was still ‘the boss.’
“I’m just glad his little ribs are all right,” said Barkley. “He’s been whining about it for two, three weeks now.”
“I’m still the boss, I have a bunch of players coming to Washington, D.C., and I may not need another,” Jordan replied.
Then they exchanged shots talking about the prospect of playing together in Washington. Thompson even asked Jordan if he could team up with Brown and Barkley in D.C.
“I think Charles will be getting the message; this kid [Kwame] can play multiple positions.”
Chuck then said he wasn’t thinking about joining His Airness, making fans in the arena, and even commissioner David Stern laugh.
“I’m not sure I would even consider coming unless you up the ante,” Chuck told him.
“Yeah, I think maybe staying with TNT is your best bet,” said Jordan.
Unfortunately, their relationship ended when MJ started feeling attacked by Barkley’s comments. They both were doing their jobs, one as an executive and the other as an analyst, but that situation created some issues between them, finishing their long-term friendship.
They lived plenty of good moments on and off the court. They clashed in the 1993 NBA Finals, played golf matches constantly, and MJ even tried to educate Barkley on dealing with homeless people.
