Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has angered many current and former players with his outspoken comments as a studio analyst, but none more than the G.O.A.T. himself, Michael Jordan.
Barkley and Jordan, who entered the NBA through the same draft class in 1984, were close friends throughout their careers and remained friends even after retirement. However, all that changed in 2012 when Barkley criticized Jordan’s performance as the majority owner of the then-Charlotte Bobcats.
During his recent appearance on “The Tom Tolbert Show,” Barkley pinpointed the exact moment when Jordan called him and said their friendship was over.
“I remember he called me that night, and he went ballistic on me,” Barkley recalled of the conversation with Jordan, via Larry Brown Sports. “Telling me, ‘You supposed to be my best friend, and you’re going to do that bulls–t? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.’ I said, ‘Man, I gotta do my job.’”
“And I said, ‘You haven’t done a good job as a general manager, and that’s my job, to be honest,’” Barkley continued. “How can I criticize other people and give you a pass? When other guys make bad draft picks, I call them [out] on it too. And he just cursed me out up and down, and we have not spoken since that night. It was a very difficult thing for me because the guy was, like, really my best friend at the time.”
When Barkley Criticized Jordan
Jordan became the minority owner of the Bobcats in 2006 and became heavily involved in personnel and front-office decisions, including draft picks. One of the controversial decisions “His Airness” made in 2006 was drafting Adam Morrison with the No. 4 pick, passing up on future All-Stars like Brandon Roy, Rajon Rondo and Kyle Lowry, besides excellent pros like Rudy Gay and JJ Redick.
In 2012, Barkley heavily criticized Jordan for passing up on Roy, even after he advised his former best friend to select the Washington product.
“I said, ‘Michael, I think you should take Brandon Roy, and he said, ‘We like Adam Morrison,’” Barkley told ESPN’s “The Waddle & Silvy Show” in 2012.
“I said, ‘Adam Morrison can’t play… I said ‘Michael, nobody wants to disagree with you. You are such a powerful personality, nobody, especially your flunkies, as I call them, the flunkies are never going to disagree with you.’”
Michael Jordan’s Failures as an Owner
Barkley further noted that Jordan’s “flunkies” did not have the guts to question his decisions, which did not bode well for the Bobcats organization.
“I think the biggest problem has been I don’t know if he has hired enough people around him who he will listen to,” Barkley said in 2012.
“I love Michael, but he just has not done a good job,” Barkley added. “Even though he is one of my great friends, I can’t get on here and tell you he’s done a great job. He has not done a great job, plain and simple.”
Jordan, who became the majority owner of the Bobcats/Hornets in 2010, could not help reverse the fortunes of the franchise even after having more say in the decisions. In 2023, his tenure as majority owner ended when he completed a sale to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall.
During his 13-year stint as majority owner, the Bobcats/Hornets went 423-600 in the regular season, making the playoffs only thrice (with just two series wins). They also recorded the worst single-season record in NBA history, 7-59, during the 2011-12 lockout season.
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