Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan weren’t just two of the biggest stars in the NBA in the 1990s, they were also teammates on the Dream Team in the 1992 Olympics and close friends who happened to love golf.
But Barkley’s criticism over a decade ago of Jordan’s then-role as owner and head of basketball operations of the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) damaged that relationship.
Now, they appear to have mended fences — and golf will once again be involved.
The problems started in 2012, when Barkley said on ESPN Chicago’s Waddle & Silvy show that “the biggest problem has been I don’t know if [Jordan] has hired enough people around him who he will listen to. One thing about being famous is the people around you, you pay all their bills, so they very rarely disagree with you because they want you to pick up the check… I don’t think Michael has hired enough people around him who will disagree.”
Barkley added at the time: “I love Michael, but he has not done a good job.”
Jordan, not surprisingly, did not appreciate those comments and in 2020, Barkley noted their relationship hadn’t recovered.
“The guy was like a brother to me for, shoot, 20-something years,” Barkley said six years ago. “And I do… I feel sadness. But to me, he’s still the greatest basketball player ever. I wish him nothing but the best. But there’s nothing I can do about it, brother.”
Until now, apparently.
Speaking on Chris Russo’s Mad Dog Unleashed on SiriusXM on Friday, Barkley said the two have started talking again and will hit the links after the NBA season is over.
“We had a conversation,” Barkley said. “We’re going to get together and play golf as soon as basketball is over.”
As Russo said to Barkley, “Charles, that’s a big story because he was mad at you!”
But Barkley insisted the issues weren’t that deep.
“We’re not like Prince William and Prince Harry,” said Barkley, who is on “Inside the NBA” on ESPN, while Jordan is a minority owner with the Hornets, whose season ended Friday night in a play-in loss to the Orlando Magic. “We always had a lot of love for each other. But we talked, actually, in the last probably 72 hours. We decided to get together and play golf as soon as basketball is over.”