"You’re supposed to be my boy": Charles Barkley recollects Michael Jordan's explosive outburst to ownership critique
The friendship of Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley has been very colorful, especially during their playing days.
From being teammates in the 1992 USA Dream Team and friendly trash talk while playing in the NBA, they were always portrayed as the best of friends.
After their playing days, Barkley pursued a career in the media as a basketball analyst. Jordan, meanwhile, went hard into entrepreneurship by purchasing the Charlotte Bobcats, now known as the Charlotte Hornets.
As wide as Jordan's basketball resume is, the six-time NBA champion doesn't have the same success as a Hornets owner, though. Being an NBA analyst, Barkley chimed in on the struggles of Charlotte as he opened up on what's wrong with the team.
Barkley revealed that he and Jordan are not on talking terms anymore, in the All The Smoke Podcast hosted by Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
"That would be on his end, Matt," Barkley tells Barnes if their broken friendship can be mended.
"He was my best friend at the time, and I love the guy, and I missed the guy. But you know, I got to do my job. What I said was - first of all, I don't think it's fair for me to critique other GMs and coaches and have a double standard- I think I'm fair to everybody."
Being close to Michael Jordan, Barkley knows who're the people that surround the NBA legend and was honest enough to talk about his former best friend's management flaw.
"What I said about Michael-- 'I don't know if he's ever going to be successful because of the people around him'. I think he hire's too many of his friends. Because your friends never tell you 'no'," said Barkley.
Following those comments, Charles Barkley got a call from Jordan, and that was the last time he heard from him.
"And he went ballistic, and he called me, and the last thing I heard was 'motherf*****, **** you. You're supposed to be my boy and blow up'. I said, 'my man, I got to do my job'. And we haven't spoken since that night," Barkley said.
WATCH: Charles Barkley's full interview on All The Smoke
Michael Jordan sells Charlotte Hornets for $3 billion
The ownership of Michael Jordan of the Charlotte Hornets came to an end, as he sold them for a whopping $3 billion, making a massive profit.
In his last days as team owner, the Hornets drafted Brandon Miller as the second overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, just behind Victor Wembanyama and above Scoot Henderson.
Michael Jordan now enjoys his time off with basketball and has been fond of competing in fishing with his 'Catch 23' yacht.