NBA legends Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were very close friends during their playing careers despite their rivalry on the hardwood. The close friends battled it out on the court many times. In his prime, Barkley was one of the most dominant players. Despite his size, he dominated the power forward position and was one of the faces of the league. He infamously won the 1993 NBA MVP award over Jordan. However, Barkley tasted little team success during his career.
While MJ won six NBA titles over the course of his career, Barkley could not manage to win one. And it has been one of the things that he has been trolled for in recent years. From former players to current players and fans mock the 11-time NBA all-star for never winning a ring.
Barkley’s visit to meet Michael Jordan
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The Jordan Rules book by author Sam Smith chronicles Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ 1991 NBA season. The book captured and revealed many interesting locker room information that is usually not available to the fans. In one such instance of the book, a comment from head coach Phil Jackson about Charles Barkley was disclosed. The incident happened before a game between the Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia.
The author noted after the pre-game shoot-around, the Bulls players returned to the locker room. And Barkley entered the Bulls’ locker room wearing his coat at around 6:40 PM. Barkley reportedly had just arrived and had not gone to his own locker room yet. According to the book, “‘A great, great player, maybe unstoppable,’ Jackson said as he watched Barkley talking with Jordan. ‘But he’s got no discipline, none. You can’t win with a player like that.'”
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Smith added the game time was 7:00 PM. Furthermore, the author stated the Bulls had a rule that every player should be in the locker room before 6:00 PM for a home game. He added the 76ers had the same rule but head coach Jim Lynam had to drop the rule because Barkley never followed the rule.
Charles Barkley received a lot of criticism during his NBA career
Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley spent a lot of time together because of their close friendship. But the two were very different. Jordan pushed himself and his teammates to win at any cost.
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On the other hand, Barkley was often criticized for his lack of discipline during his playing career. The Hall of Famer received a lot of criticism for his eating habits and weight as well throughout his NBA career.