“Never Got Over the Pain”: Charles Barkley Once Described Most Bothersome Part of Losing to Michael Jordan in the 1993 Finals

Charles Barkley was able to beat out Michael Jordan for the 1993 MVP, but he still wasn’t able to overcome His Airness and the Chicago Bulls during their matchup in the NBA Finals that season. Chuck recalled some of the mistakes he made on his road to the championship round, explaining why the Suns couldn’t keep MJ from his first three-peat.

As the only NBA Finals appearance of his career, the six-game series defeat still stings Barkley, who took much of the responsibility for the loss. Phoenix was able to make it a series after an impressive road win in Game 5, but a one-point loss in Game 6 brought heartbreak to a franchise looking for its first championship.

“Well, number one, I never got over the pain,” Barkley said in a 2020 interview. The 11-time All-Star then admitted what bothered him most about losing to Michael Jordan during their only matchup on the game’s biggest stage.

Barkley regrets not getting his team more prepared for Game 1, which the Bulls won in a 100-92 rout on the road. The Suns boasted home court advantage throughout the playoffs after finishing with the league’s best record, but it was quickly lost as the team simply wasn’t ready.

What irritated Chuck the most, though, is that MJ made a similar mistake during his first NBA Finals run in 1991. The only difference was Jordan still came out of the series victorious despite that rough first game.

Michael Jordan didn’t have the Bulls ready for their first NBA Finals

After years of disappointing postseason losses, Jordan and the Bulls eventually clawed their way to an NBA Finals appearance in 1991. But MJ didn’t have his team prepared to face the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers.

Chicago ended up dropping the first contest of the series, just like Phoenix, albeit in a close 93-91 final. However, unlike Barkley’s Suns, Jordan and the Bulls learned from their mistakes and rectified them, leading to much smoother results throughout the rest of the series.

The Bulls were able to make quick work of the aging Lakers following the Game 1 loss. Chicago didn’t lose another contest in the series. Game 3’s overtime drama was the only other scare LA was able to put to the Bulls.

MJ and the Bulls went on to win two more titles, eventually completing their three-peat against Barkley’s Suns. Jordan was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to adjust his game early on before embarking on a stretch of unrivaled success, an opportunity Chuck and the Suns never had.