There was a time when Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were close friends and did absolutely everything together. In fact, the Chuckster would even accompany Jordan to the golf course. On one occasion, their trip to the greens cost the GOAT $10,000, a fine he had to pay to the NBA for missing practice before the All-Star game. Of course, MJ got back at Barkley too. In fact, he once called out the 1993 MVP for his eating habits, right on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
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During his time in the NBA, Barkley wasn’t in shape consistently. He famously enlisted Moses Malone’s help to lose weight early on in his NBA career. But even then, his love for food often got the best of him, something Jordan just couldn’t help but joke about, even with the world watching.
Michael Jordan roasted Charles Barkley’s eating habits on the Oprah Winfrey show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is one of the most popular shows to have ever aired on American television. So you’d think that Jordan would be a tad more careful while roasting his friend during an appearance on it. However, the Bulls icon apparently couldn’t care less about it.
During their appearance on her show, Oprah asked both Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan a fairly innocuous question.
Oprah: “Who’s the wiser (between the two)?”
Weirdly enough, as soon as the Bulls legend heard this question, his mind immediately went to his dear friend’s gut. And so, through bouts of laughter, here is the response he managed to deliver.
Michael Jordan: *Pointing to himself* “I know when to eat, and when not to eat!”
At 6’6”, Charles Barkley weighed around 252 lbs over the course of his 16-year NBA career. That doesn’t sound too bad at first. However, the Suns star’s weight was known to fluctuate to higher numbers, often up to around 290 lbs in very short periods of time. So, Michael Jordan’s ‘joke’ may not have been far away from the truth.
That being said, that’s quite a low blow to deliver on one of the biggest television shows of all time. So, it’s hard to imagine that statement didn’t at least pinch Barkley. And in the end, you wonder if it contributed to the former Sixers star’s words that ended this once wholesome friendship.
Barkley’s public criticism of Jordan and the Charlotte Hornets ended their friendship
Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan’s bond was a strong one for a very long time. However, it just couldn’t survive the former’s opinion on the Charlotte Hornets.
During an appearance on TNT’s Inside the NBA, Barkley criticized Jordan and his ownership of the Hornets, joking that Jordan’s front office did not know how to say no to him. And apparently, the GOAT took those words personally. You can read all the details right here.
