?He Gonna Break Your Balls?: Constantly Pestered by Chris Tucker, Charles Barkley Makes Confession About Michael Jordan and His ‘Father Figure’

As the Ben Affleck-directed Air, based on Nike’s sneaker deal with Michael Jordan, hits theaters, the iconic story has once again become a hot topic in the hoops world. The Jordan brand of the Chicago Bulls legend was crucial for Nike to broaden its presence in the NBA in the ’90s. A few years after Jordan finalized his endorsement with Nike, fellow icon Charles Barkley also signed a signature shoe deal with the company. Barkley, who has established himself as a popular storyteller in his retirement, recently made a confession about his association with the sports-apparel giant.

Howard White, who is currently the vice-president of the Jordan brand, was instrumental in getting both the stars to endorse Nike. Hollywood actor and comedian Chris Tucker plays White’s role in Air and to gather more insight on the Nike executive, Tucker pestered Barkley numerous times. Fortunately, Tucker went to just the right person since Barkley has a lot of personal stories to tell.

Charles Barkley makes a confession while speaking about Nike’s Howard White

Ben Affleck recently joined Charles Barkley and commentator Ernie Johnson in an episode of the Steam Room podcast. As the trio weighed in on Affleck’s latest film, Howard White and Chris Tucker, who played the Jordan vice-president’s character, eventually became the topics of discussion at one point. “Chris Tucker was driving me freaking nuts…He says Charles, tell me about Howard White,” Charles Barkley reported!

Sir Charles pointed out that White was like an elder brother and a father figure to him as well as Michael Jordan. He went on to admit, “Every time you screw up, he calls you. He has always got your back. Every time you something stupid, which I did more…than Michael, he is coming to visit you and he is going to break your balls, but he is always positive when he does it.”

Despite the current rift with his former friend, Charles Barkley was not hesitant to confess that he screwed up more often than Michael Jordan. Howard White’s fatherly presence probably made the one NBA icon fondly remember the other!

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Howard White is the most celebrated Nike executive

In his conversation with Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson, Ben Affleck pointed out that one could even make a separate movie based on Howard White. Before joining Nike, White had a promising college basketball stint. He was even drafted by the then Washington Bullets (now Wizards). However, a knee injury ended his hopes for an NBA career.

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Howard White remained unfazed by the obstacle and he joined Nike to deal with NBA’s clients in the Eastern Conference. This led the executive to play an instrumental role in the legendary Jordan deal. Later, Howard White came to look after Nike’s entire operations with regard to the NBA, winning the company endorsements with other NBA icons, including Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen.