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Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan were once among the closest friends in the NBA. The connection between the two dates back to the 1984 draft, which carried through the peak of their careers and continued well into their retirements.
They played golf together, appeared in the movie Space Jam, and, more importantly, never missed an opportunity to make jokes at each other. But it all changed in 2012
Barkley publicly criticized Jordan’s tenure as the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, questioning the franchise’s direction and arguing that he had surrounded himself with people who were unwilling to challenge him. Jordan didn’t view the comments as mere criticism of his ownership decisions — he took them as a personal attack.
The conversation that followed ended with their friendship being put on hold for more than a decade. Fourteen years later, though, Barkley says the two NBA legends are finally working towards putting it all behind them
A phone call ended years of silence between the NBA icons
NBA fans know Barkley is not one to shy away from criticizing any athlete when he is in his analyst mode. The same happened when the Bobcats, now Hornets, finished the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season with a 7-59 record, the worst winning percentage in NBA history.
Jordan immediately called Barkley out for his comments, but the latter was quick to explain that he needed to stand by what he said, as it was his responsibility to be honest. He wasn’t going to treat one of his closest friends any differently. That disagreement eventually turned into years of silence.
But recently, Barkley revealed that one unexpected phone call became the turning point in repairing their relationship. According to reports, former MLB outfielder Vince Coleman was playing golf with Jordan when he decided to call Barkley and hand him the phone.
“I said, ‘Oh, man, how you doing?’ I hope you're doing great.’ And we’re like, ‘Yo, man, let's let this bull—it go. We were great friends, brothers for a long time, and both of us being selfish and stupid,'” Barkley explained on the recent Pardon My Take episode on Netflix.
“I said, ‘Yeah, we are. We're both selfish and stupid and stubborn more than anything.’ He says, ‘Hey, man, as soon as basketball is over, come down to my golf course, and let's play,’ and I said, ‘Man, I'd be honored to. You know, I miss your friendship.’ And he said, ‘I miss your friendship,'" he added.
The conversation picked up from where they had left off. Both legends admitted that they missed having each other around, and apparently, golf could soon bring Barkley and Jordan together once again.
Bakley better have his gold swing ready for MJ
Barkley shared that Jordan is currently out of the country, so the two are waiting until their schedules line up before spending a few days together at the six-time NBA champion’s golf course.
Barkley, however, doesn’t expect there to be any awkwardness once they get together. He even joked that he’ll have no problem getting back to trash-talking Jordan the way he always did.
Moreover, golf has been a big part of their friendship, and it also became the reason Jordan stopped inviting Barkley for a while.
“He quit playing with me when I had the yips,” Barkley said. “‘This is not fun for me to watch, he said, ‘I'm not playing with you anymore. You gotta play with the group behind me.’”
But Barkley believes his swing is now better, too, and he can compete with Jordan on the golf course.
For the NBA world, it’s good to see that the relationship between the two was always bigger than their egos. It’s just that their historic friendship was put on hold because of one difficult conversation, but neither Barkley nor Jordan seems interested in holding onto it any longer.
