“When Push Comes to Shove, They’re Not His Friends”: Charles Barkley, Who Now Hasn’t Spoken to Michael Jordan in 10 Years, Once Called Out MJ’s Fake Buddies to His Face

Published 12/18/2022, 2:36 PM EST

Philadelphia 76ers legend Charles Barkley and Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan debuted in the NBA in 1984. Since then they have had many epic battles on the court against each other. They also grew a bond between themselves and soon became best friends. Although they currently don’t talk to each other for over 10 years due to a dispute between themselves, one interview in the 90s showed how being MJ’s best friend, Sir Charles pointed out a few things about Jordan’s inner circle.

Barkley is one of those players who has a refreshingly honest and relatable personality. Apart from that, he is also straightforward and outspoken. As a result of these traits, he didn’t hold back from commenting candidly on Jordan’s ‘fake’ friends.

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Charles Barkley called out Michael Jordan’s fake buddies in the 90s

In 1993, Michael Jordan did an extensive interview about his gambling addiction with former journalist and actress, Connie Chung at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. In that interview, both MJ and Charles Barkley could be seen interacting with Chung candidly in the public. At one point, Barkley was asked to respond to a question about Jordan’s inner circle. The Sixers legend said in regards to Jordan’s entourage, “These people not his friends.”

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Meanwhile, Chung asked, “Which people?” Barkley responded by saying, “The public in general.” The 1993 NBA MVP further added, “When Push comes to shove, they are not his friends.” In the words of Chung, Barkley probably referred to people like Richard Esquinas, one of MJ’s gambling buddies who wrote a book detailing their exploits, when he was talking about opportunistic friends.

Chung even mentioned before the start of their candid interaction that Barkley believed that Jordan trusts people easily and is often the target for that reason. Barkley’s statements were pretty self-explanatory. He wanted to point out that the friends of the Bulls legend were not his real friends and they were only with him for their own interests.

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What are your thoughts on the remarks of Charles Barkley? Do let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Ayush Roy is an NBA writer at Essentially Sports. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Calcutta. Capitalizing his background in finance, Ayush likes to dive deep into the economics of the NBA.

Edited by:

Satagni Sikder

“When Push Comes to Shove, They’re Not His Friends”: Charles Barkley, Who Now Hasn’t Spoken to Michael Jordan in 10 Years, Once Called Out MJ’s Fake Buddies to His Face

Charles Barkley called out Michael Jordan’s fake buddies in the 90s

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