Charles Barkley Signals His Long-Running Rift With Michael Jordan Is Coming to an End, Says Ex-NBA Stars Have Plans to ‘Play Golf’

Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan in 1990
Credit: Lou Capozzola/NBAE via Getty

"We're not like Prince William and Prince Harry," Barkley continued.

"We've always had a lot of love for each other, but we talked, actually, in the last 72 hours," he said. "We decided to get together and play golf as soon as basketball is over."

Barkley said in February 2023 that he hadn't spoken to Jordan — who purchased the then-Charlotte Bobcats in 2006 and sold his majority stake in 2023 —in the ten years since the Chicago Bulls icon felt dissed by Barkley's criticism.

Recalling how Jordan "went ballistic" after the criticism, Barkley said during a 2023 appearance on All The Smoke, "He called me and the last thing I heard was 'Motherf----er, f--- you. You're supposed to be my boy.' I said 'Man, I gotta do my job.' We haven't spoken since that night."

Barkley said on that podcast that Jordan was his "best friend at the time" before their falling out. "I love the guy and miss the guy, but I gotta do my job," the NBA on Prime analyst explained, adding, "I think I'm fair to everybody."

The initial criticism from Barkley suggested that Jordan surrounded himself by "yes men" while running the Hornets.

"The hardest thing about being famous is that you're paying all the bills, they're on your private jet, and they're not going to tell you when you're doing something wrong," he said at the time, adding, "I love Michael, but he just has not done a good job. 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."

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For his part, Barkley has said over the years that he'd be willing to reconnect with Jordan, who has not commented on Barkley's claim that they'll "get together" once the current NBA season ends.

Speaking to Bleacher Report in December 2022, Barkley said he'd tell Jordan, "What I said, I believed. I'm sorry you took offense to it. And let's get past this bulls--t and get back to playing golf and having fun."

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