Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were once the best of friends. They even appeared together in an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show back in 2005 and roasted each other.
During their appearance on the show, the two NBA legends were throwing jabs at each other. Barkley poked fun at Jordan’s looks, while MJ knocked out Chuck for not having a winning mentality. The Chicago Bulls legend started it subtly by discussing riding a motorcycle before delivering the ultimate roast.
“When you ride a motorcycle, you have to be a defensive rider,” Jordan said. “You’ve got to be a defensive driver. You don’t have time to talk on the phone, you don’t have time to eat. You don’t have time to do a lot of things most people do every single day, which is more dangerous than riding a motorcycle.”
He added:
“You’ve got to be really focused on seeing the traffic ahead. He doesn’t know about this. He’s never ridden a motorcycle. He never understands what it takes to be a winner.”
While Charles Barkley was trying to be hilarious like always, Michael Jordan took it personally and just went for the jugular. Jordan’s competitiveness is really something that separates him from other people.
Jordan, who was good friends with Barkley at the time, had no regard for his feelings. It was over when he talked about a winning mentality because he won six NBA championships in his legendary career.
As for Barkley, he’s known for being one of the greatest players to have never won a ring. But despite what Jordan said, it was all laughs for Barkley since he knows how to make fun of himself and didn’t take it personally.
Charles Barkley has not spoken to Michael Jordan since 2012
Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were very close friends for the better part of their NBA careers and a few years after retiring. However, all things changed when Barkley criticized Jordan’s ownership of the Charlotte Hornets in 2012.
In an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast earlier this year, Barkley explained the last phone call he had with Jordan.
“He was struggling as a general manager or running the team, and I said, ‘I don’t know if he’s ever going to be successful ’cause the people around him are never gonna tell him no,’” Barkley said. “He went ballistic and he called me, and the last thing I heard was, “Motherf***er, f**k you. You’re supposed to be my boy.’ I said ‘Man, I gotta do my job.’ We haven’t spoken since that night.”
With Jordan selling the Charlotte Hornets, Barkley was probably right about his analysis of his friend’s tenure as an owner.