The divide between former NBA MVP Charles Barkley and widely acknowledged “greatest basketball player of all time” Michael Jordan has been publicly known for a while now. So when Kenny Smith posted a photo of Michael Jordan with his arm around Charles Barkley, there was public speculation that the two had gotten over their beef. In a recent conversation with Dan Le Batard, though, the TNT analyst said otherwise.
“We just happen to be at the same place,” Charles Barkley said. “I would love to mend that relationship, but we just happened to be at the same place and we took a picture together… I wish Michael nothing but the best. I love him like a brother but we are not back to where we used to be,” Charles Barkley said during a guesting at ESPN’s The Dan Le Batard Show.
So after the HALL OF FAME the GOAT came down for congrats! #UNC #tarheelpride #BCHOF2016
A photo posted by thejetontnt (@thejetontnt) on Oct 18, 2016 at 8:51pm PDT
As noted by a New York Post report, Charles Barkley has previously admitted that his relationship with Michael Jordan was strained after he made some unfavorable comments regarding the former Chicago Bull’s work as owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
“What I said about Michael, that he had to do a better job of putting people around him because I thought he had too many people around him that just did what said to do. He really took it personally and he got really angry,” Charles Barkley added.
The photo was posted by Charles Barkley’s TNT colleague, and Michael Jordan fellow North Carolina alum, Kenny Smith. Charles Barkley said that at the time the photo was taken, it was the first time he’d spoken to his former close friend in years.
“I would love to be friends with Michael again. I miss his friendship. He was always like a brother to me and I miss that,” Charles Barkley said, adding that Michael Jordan was like a brother to him for 30 years.
Source: The New York Post
