Michael Jordan once spent $20,000 on Charles Barkley to ease his way to the 1993 NBA championship. In fact, Jordan’s Chicago Bulls faced Barkley’s Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals that year. As a result, Michael Jordan left no stone unturned to give himself even the slightest edge possible.

The Bulls defeated the Suns 4-2 in the 1993 NBA Finals. John Paxson hit the game-winning three in Game 6 of the Finals to seal the deal for the Bulls. As a result, the Bulls completed their first three-peat by bagging three consecutive championships from 1991 to 1993.

Meanwhile, Michael Jordan bagged his third Finals MVP in a row. By doing so, some might say he sent a message to the NBA voters for choosing Charles Barkley as the league MVP that season. However, there was a lot more at play in the Finals than what met the naked eye.

Michael Jordan pretended to be Charles Barkley’s friends

Michael Jordan reportedly “bribed” Charles Barkley with a diamond earring worth $20k to go easy on him on the Finals. Moreover, the Chicago Bulls legend pretended to be Barkley’s friend to get a slight edge in the Finals.

Afterward, he had supposedly called Barkley a “Fat ****” and said $20k meant nothing to him. In other words, Jordan spent time with Barkley that year so that the Phoenix Suns forward would perhaps be more lenient while guarding him. Therefore, Jordan effectively pretended to be friends with Barkley to get ahead in the Finals.

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Despite being morally questionable, the strategy worked. The Bulls grabbed the series in six games. Meanwhile, Michael Jordan averaged a staggering 41 points, 6.3 assists, and 8.5 rebounds in the six-game Finals series.

Michael Jordan as a competitor

Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time. However, he has also cemented his legacy as the greatest competitor of all time. In fact, Michael Jordan went to great lengths to try to derive even the slightest edge on his opponents.

In doing so, he sometimes crossed the line. The 2020 Netflix documentary ‘The Last Dance’ revealed how tough Jordan was on his teammates. In fact, he pushed them to their limits to better themselves every single day.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the six-time NBA champion would pull some kind of trick on his opponent. On the contrary, it’s quite expected from him.

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Do you think Michael Jordan crossed the line by pretending to be Charles Barkley’s friend? Comment below.