Back in 1992, long before Charles Barkley had made a name for his unabashed opinions as a basketball analyst, Michael Jordan praised Chuck’s ability to maintain frankness through every situation. Speaking to the New York Times Magazine, MJ had praised Chuck for his ability to say things that other people generally “do not have the courage to”. While that habit may eventually have led to a breakdown of the relationship between the two, Barkley has maintained his personality over the years.
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“He never holds his tongue. Sometimes be says the things you want to say, but you don’t have the courage to say,” MJ had said.
Hence, while Barkley’s reputation of being a straight talker has been exposed after his retirement, it seems as if his teammates and rivals knew about it long before.
In a Nike commercial from his playing days, Chuck had proclaimed to the world that he was “not a role model.” Claiming that he was not “paid to be one,” he said that he was simply a basketball player and that it is the “parents of kids” who should act as their role models.
His brashness and ability to speak his mind have always been evident, as was the case when he spoke about his time at the Philadelphia 76ers. In his book, Sir Charles, Chuck had said that if he simply went along with the game plan, he could have been making a couple of million more than he was, every year.
However, instead of looking for bigger contracts and superteams, Chuck decided to stay with the 76ers for eight years, despite never making more than $3,200,000 a season. That figure came in his final year, and Barkley made just around $9,200,000 in his time with the 76ers, according to Sportrac.
However, he claimed that where he played basketball was not even one of the top 10 most important things in his life. Chuck, instead, preferred to be himself and gave up a couple of millions every year due to his mindset.
Charles Barkley and MJ were close friends before the 2013 fallout
Chuck and MJ were described as best friends during their playing years. They were both avid golfers and regular gamblers and came to the NBA as part of the 1984 draft.
However, following Jordan’s time as the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, Chuck has criticized and questioned some aspects of the way he had gone about his job. The comments were not well-met by Jordan, who was offended, and according to Barkley, ended up breaking off the friendship.
Having spoken about his relationship with MJ multiple times, Chuck has refused to be the first person to apologize. Talking to 60 Minutes, he said that he believes MJ does not have too many people around him who are still willing to tell him “no,” according to CBS Sports.
That, along with Barkley’s belief that he was merely doing his job, seemingly led to a breakdown of their relationship which has not been mended to date.
