Charles Barkley didn’t mince words during his Hall of Fame basketball career, and that has continued to be the case in his over two-decade-long run as an analyst on television. Barkley doesn’t shy away from criticizing anybody, but that approach of his cost him his friendship with Michael Jordan.
Barkley and Jordan were good friends for years, but their relationship fell apart after the former was critical of how the latter was running the then-Charlotte Bobcats as majority owner in 2012. Jordan was incensed by the comments, and Barkley spoke about their final conversation during an appearance on the Tom Tolbert Show.
“I said, Michael, I don’t think he’s ever going to be successful,” Barkley said. “I think the people around him, they’re not good talent evaluators, and you need better people around you. And he’s not been successful as a GM. And first of all, those out here just spewing facts.
“And I remember he called me that night,” Barkley stated. “And he went ballistic on me, telling me, ‘Hey, you’re supposed to be my best friend, and you’re going to do that bull***t?’ I said, ‘Man, I got to do my job.’ And I said, ‘You haven’t done a good job as a general manager, and that’s my job to do, to be honest.’ I said, ‘How can I criticize other people and give you a pass?’
“I says, ‘When other guys make bad draft picks, I call them on it, too,'” Barkley added. “And he just cursed me out up and down, and we have not spoken since that night. And it was a very difficult thing for me, because the guy was like my best friend at the time.”
Jordan’s tenure as majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets didn’t prove to be a successful one. In 13 full seasons under his guidance, the team went 423-600. They only made the playoffs on three occasions and never won a series.
Despite struggling for so many years, the team didn’t land a single superstar via the draft either. When four-time All-Star Kemba Walker is by far the best draft pick you’ve made, it’s clear you haven’t done a good job.
Jordan left Barkley with no choice but to be critical. As for what exactly his comments were, here is what he said on The Waddle & Silvy Show back in 2012.
“I think the biggest problem has been I don’t know if he has hired enough people around him who he will listen to,” Barkley said. “One thing about being famous is the people around you, you pay all their bills so they very rarely disagree with you because they want you to pick up the check. They want to fly around on your private jet so they never disagree with you. I don’t think Michael has hired enough people around him who will disagree.”
“I love Michael, but he just has not done a good job,” Barkley said. “Even though he is one of my great friends, I can’t get on here and tell you he’s done a great job. He has not done a great job, plain and simple.”
These were fair comments. Barkley did not go overboard at any point, and for Jordan to still be upset about this after all these years is a bit ridiculous. Barkley has stated he won’t be the first to apologize, and it’s very unlikely that this relationship will ever get fixed.
