Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were very close friends during their playing years. On the other hand, Scottie Pippen was Jordan’s right-hand for the Chicago Bulls. Pippen and Barkley had MJ as their common acquaintance. They also had no problems while playing together for the 1992 Dream Team. Furthermore, when Jordan retired in 1993, Pippen wanted to leave after a year, and he was willing to join Barkley and the Phoenix Suns. Also, Barkley noted his excitement about playing alongside someone like Pippen. However, the deal did not go through. Then MJ came back, and the Bulls won three straight titles again. Barkley and Pippen then finally joined forces for the Houston Rockets. Barkley even took a pay cut to accommodate the six-time NBA champion. Pippen wanted the move and spoke highly about Barkley taking a huge pay cut. However, things went south in a year.

Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley’s beef

There was a huge expectation around the Houston Rockets because of their star-studded team despite their age. However, they lost the first round of playoffs against Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and the Los Angeles Lakers. And trouble started to brew. Scottie Pippen was not happy with the team and his lack of involvement in the offense. So he wanted to move. Furthermore, he wanted to move to the Lakers because of Phil Jackson. Barkley was not happy with this and stated Pippen owed an apology. Pippen ripped Barkley to shreds in his reply.

According to footage of the interview posted by Secret Base, Scottie said, “If anything he owes me an apology for coming to play with his sorry fat bu**. He doesn’t show me the desire to want to win, and I probably should have listened to Michael a year ago when he said that Charles never will win a championship because he doesn’t show any dedication.”

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Notably, Phil Jackson also once had a similar comment about Barkley. The Rockets were now forced to make a move amidst the major beef between their superstars. However, they did not send Pippen to the Lakers. In turn, they traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers, putting an end to the internal rift.

Pippen and Barkley as opponents

NBA legends Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley went against each other a lot in the early and mid-90s. Barkley was a superstar who had the power to carry his team deep into the playoffs. However, he could not overcome the Chicago Bulls. In two straight playoffs, Barkley and the Philadelphia 76ers faced defeat at the hands of Michael Jordan, Pippen, and the Bulls.

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Barkley then joined the Phoenix Suns and was at his prime, winning the 1993 NBA MVP over Jordan. However, he could not defeat the Bulls again, this time in the 1993 NBA Finals. In all the battles, Pippen and Barkley guarded each other a lot. However, there was not any major beef. Ironically, things got heated between the two when they teamed up.