?I Have to Bring Him Back to Reality?: Trash Talker Michael Jordan Once Explained Why He Used to Say Mean Things to Good Friend Charles Barkley

NBA all-time great Michael Jordan is arguably the best player ever. He was great on both ends of the court. Jordan was also one of the most competitive players ever and always showed his killer instinct. He is notorious for his trash-talking as well. MJ could talk as well as he plays and always made sure he gets under the skin of his opponents one way or another. Over the years, many teammates and opponents have talked about his trash-talking. MJ even hit a free throw with his eyes closed in an attempt to get under the skin of his opponents.

And it was not just on the basketball court, his trash talking continued off it as well. In 1997, Jordan made an appearance on the Keenan Ivory Wayans Show. During the sit-down, the host wanted to know how things are when MJ is hanging out with his friends who are also his rivals in the league.

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Interestingly, MJ joked that he can talk about whatever he wants to Charles Barkley because he never won anything. He admitted that Barkley was a witty guy and then revealed that he has to bring him back to reality sometimes.

Michael Jordan had to remind Charles Barkley

Michael Jordan said, “This is certainly poor that it’s not demeaning to Charles. I’m motivating Charles to get on my level. You know, Charles, he’s a great speaker, he’s a witty guy. But every time when he gets out of his arena, talking about winning, I have to bring him back to reality.”

Jordan and Barkley were very close friends at the time. The two hung out a lot off the court. But when it was crunch time, they went hard against each other. The two went head to head in the race for the MVP award as well. In 1993, Barkley won the MVP award over a prime MJ.

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Chuck had a great first season for the Phoenix Suns averaging 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. He also led the Suns to the NBA finals that year. And he had the chance to show the world that he is the best player if he could beat Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls had won the previous two chips and were on a mission to achieve a three-peat.

As the finals began, it was MJ who showed the world what he is about. The Bulls did not need a game-7 as they won the series 4-2 to clinch the title. And ‘Air Jordan’ averaged a mindboggling 41 points per game. Big game player indeed.