When Charles Barkley disclosed his trick to Michael Jordan to neutralize Dennis Rodman: “I’d just punch him as hard as I could”
During the 1990s, Charles Barkley was one of the many NBA stars trying to take down Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The Hall of Fame forward even had his own gameplan to take out one of Chicago's key X-factors.
While he was a wild card off the court, Rodman played a pivotal role in the Bulls' second three-peat in the '90s. His main focuses were defense and rebounding, which made him the perfect complement to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
Since they played the same position, Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman often matched up against one another. During an interview, the former MVP told Michael Jordan what he would to do keep Rodman off his game.
In an effort to frustrate Rodman, Barkley would sneak punches during games.
"I’d just punch him as hard as I could at the beginning of the game and he would leave you alone," Barkley said. "Michael used to ask us, ‘Why do you keep doing that?’ Because he stops irritating you and bugging you once you clock him.”
Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman always got physical
Anytime Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman faced off, things got heated. Both were physical players who never wanted to give an inch.
On top of their aggressive play, Barkley and Rodman also liked to play mind games. This was on full display during a matchup between the Phoenix Suns and Chicago Bulls in 1996.
Throughout the game, Barkley and Rodman did all they could to aggitate one another. In this case, it was the Bulls forward who got the upper hand.
After getting Barkley to commit a charging foul while posting up, Rodman shot up off the ground and did a little showboating for the crowd. Barkley did not take a liking to this and tried to get some revenge on the other end of the floor. He gave Rodman a couple elbows to the back, but the refs caught him and issued a foul.
In the end, it was Barkley and the Suns who had the last laugh that night. Thanks to a 35-point, 16-rebound performance from the star forward, Phoenix walked away with a 10-point win over MJ and company.
They didn't know it at the time, but Barkley and the Suns accomplished an impressive feat that night. Phoenix was one of the 10 teams to hand the Bulls a loss that year as they went on to go 72-10 in the regular season. That was a record that stood for some time before being broken by the Golden State Warriors in 2015-16.