One thing NBA fans have learned from watching the NBA on TNT pre-game analysis before live games is that Charles Barkley‘s ‘guarantee’ barely guarantees you anything. In fact, Barkley’s ‘guarantees’ more often than not lead to contrary results. The Chuckster has made it a habit at this point to “guarantee” his prediction of an upcoming NBA matchup with utmost confidence. However, those ‘guarantees’ have religiously failed to usher in the desired result. Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that one of Charles’ guarantees regarding Michael Jordan in 1993 failed to stand the test of time as well.
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Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley may not be on speaking terms right now(after Barkley’s criticism of MJ’s management of the Charlotte Hornets), but they were close friends back in 1993 before facing each other in the NBA Finals. Both NBA superstars were avid golfers and spent a large portion of the 1992-93 season golfing together.
Certain reports speculated that Jordan was actually spending time with Barkley to flatter him, so that he could gain an edge against the reigning MVP’s Phoenix Suns side in the Finals. Sir Charles would debunk those rumors decades later on Jason and Travis Kelce’s podcast New Heights.
Charles Barkley “guaranteed” Michael Jordan’s retirement in 1993
Michael Jordan retired from professional basketball in 1993, shortly after the Chicago Bulls completed their first three-peat against the Charles Barkley-led Phoenix Suns in the Finals. The untimely demise of Jordan’s father, James Jordan Sr., really took a toll on Michael. Subsequently, the Bulls legend decided to retire from the NBA to fulfill his late father’s wish to pursue a career in baseball.
The sudden decision stunned the NBA community. Many couldn’t believe that MJ was quitting basketball in the prime of his career and at the height of success. Meanwhile, his close friend at the time, Charles Barkley, reinforced the sincerity of Jordan’s resolve and “guaranteed” he would not return to basketball again.
During an interview with Charlie Rose in 1993, Barkley said, “But he’s [Michael Jordan] not going to come back. I guarantee…I mean, I’ve talked to him quite a bit. He’s not coming back. I think people don’t understand. Well, first of all, they try to make us seem like we’re insecure. Well, Michael’s not insecure, and I’m not insecure.”
That prediction from Barkley worked out as well as most of his ‘guarantees’ on the set of TNT. Jordan returned to the NBA in 1995, reverting to winning ways once again the very next year. There’s no doubt that the Chuckster was sincere in his assessment of the Bulls superstar’s decision to retire. However, he had no way of knowing that Jordan would go on to change his mind later on.
Barkley denies getting bribed by Jordan
Several reports had circulated that Michael Jordan used his golfing sessions with buddy Charles Barkley to “butter” him up so that the latter won’t go hard on him in the NBA Finals. Certain rumors also talked about Charles Barkley allegedly receiving $20,000 earrings from MJ before the Finals encounter.
However, Barkley dismissed all such rumors during a recent appearance on the Kelce brothers’ podcast. He admitted receiving earrings from MJ during Christmas, but not before the NBA Finals. Moreover, the 11-time All-Star added that the two friends had decided not to golf together for the duration of the Finals. So there was no way Michael influenced him before the most important contest of his life.
