Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan shared an odd relationship in the 1990s, they were rivals and good friends. The two legends were on the Dream Team together in 1992, and by 1993, Charles Barkley was challenging Michael Jordan on the biggest stage the NBA has to offer. Everyone knows how it turned out, MJ got his threepeat, and Barkley remained ringless, but there was a lot more to it than that.
In the 1992-93 season, Charles Barkley led the Phoenix Suns to the best record in the NBA and won the MVP award. This is something Michael Jordan took personally, as he often did with situations like these, and he was ready to take on Barkley in the NBA Finals. The Phoenix Suns lost the first two games in the Finals and, despite winning 2 later in the series, ended up losing. And speaking to The Athletic in an interview, Barkley had said it was his fault that happened.
“The other games (after Game 1) were really good games, but I thought the one bad game we had was Game One,” Barkley said. “I thought we were nervous, and I think that was my fault for not having us ready to play. I had been in big moments before, but nobody else on our team had been in big moments. I just felt that I should’ve had us better prepared, or I should’ve been more aggressive, to be honest with you.”
Charles Barkley has always been a big believer in stars taking responsibility if their team loses, and that’s what he did here. But the point he made about the nervousness of a first Finals game was something even MJ experienced, as Barkley himself pointed out.
Charles Barkley Explained That The Game 1 Loss Was Similar To What Happened To Michael Jordan In His First NBA Finals
In his first NBA Finals against Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls lost Game 1. And Barkley mentioned how MJ felt the same way about it during the interview.
“It’s so interesting. Michael actually talked about it in the documentary (The Last Dance). He was talking about his first championship (in 1991), and (how the Bulls) lost their first game to the Lakers (before winning in five games) — people forget. And he said, ‘We were kind of in shock how intense it was in Game 1,’ and he said, ‘We weren’t ready for Game 1.’ And I had never talked to him about that before, to be honest with you, but I thought it was funny that he said that in the documentary.”
The margin between becoming a champion and not tasting ultimate success in the NBA is a very fine line. With a few things going differently, Charles Barkley might have been a champion in his life. But the fact that he claims responsibility just goes to show that Chuck has always had the heart of a true superstar.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
