An old clip from the 2001 NBA Draft broadcast has come up where Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan can be seen engaging in some banter.
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Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley go way back, having been drafted together in the famous 1984 draft. Both legends turned out to be franchise guys for their respective teams for most of their careers. Their friendship and mutual admiration for each other were always apparent.
That didn’t make their rivalry any less fierce. While MJ and Chuck were both on bad teams to start their careers. However, they both put in the work and turned their fortunes around. The rivalry reached its pinnacle during the 1993 NBA Finals. Chuck gave it his all and won some matches by himself, but it wasn’t enough to prevent MJ from three-peating.
Their colorful personalities and banter always made headlines. The duo’s camaraderie during the 1992 Olympics and their joint appearance in Oprah’s show was relished by the whole world.
Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley had some hilarious banter during the 2001 NBA Draft
A recently resurfaced video from the 2001 TNT broadcast of the NBA draft has fans delighted. This was during the time when Charles was rumored to come back out of retirement, possibly, to play alongside MJ at Washington.
During an interview with Bulls legend as Wizards GM, Chuck on the TNT panel went straight into banter mode. He started by joking about how MJ had been crying about his injured ribs for 3 weeks, and how he was just glad his friend was okay.
MJ did not hold back. He went on to say how he had an amazing player in Kwame coming to Washington. Hence, maybe he did not need Charles coming into his team now. When Chuck responded by saying he wouldn’t even be interested in supporting MJ’s Wizards, MJ hilariously advised Chuck to stay at TNT, as it was the best he could do.
The crowd seemed to love the exchange, and even commissioner David Stern playfully apologized for cutting the MJ-Chuck banter short. The whole incident is even funnier now, as we know how the Kwame Brown pick worked out for MJ and the Wizards.
It’s a shame that Chuck and MJ haven’t continued to be friends in recent years. After Chuck criticized MJ for his poor career as an NBA executive, both have not been on speaking terms. Fans surely missed out on a whole lot of quirks and banter.
