Charles Barkley wants to clear the air. Despite the noise, he insists there’s no lingering beef with his former best friend. His frustration, instead, is aimed squarely at how his much-discussed analyst debut was handled behind the scenes.

For those who missed it, Barkley redirected his criticism away from TNT and ESPN and toward NBC, calling out what he viewed as poor planning and a classic bait-and-switch involving Michael Jordan’s role as a “special contributor.” The issue wasn’t Jordan himself, but the expectations NBC created and then failed to meet.

Like much of the NBA world, Barkley was disappointed that Jordan never actually offered meaningful basketball analysis. During a SiriusXM radio appearance hosted by former teammate Eddie A. Johnson, Barkley labeled the network “disingenuous” for repeatedly airing a pre-taped interview in fragmented segments rather than delivering fresh insight.

The following day, Barkley doubled down on that point while phoning in to The Dan Patrick Show, hosted by another longtime friend and former NBC Sports employee. There, he made it unmistakably clear that his criticism was directed at the network, not at Jordan.

“I didn’t call them out, you know,” Barkley told Patrick, responding to the host’s suggestion that his earlier remarks sounded like a public lashing. “It’s a bad look. It’s a bad look to do one interview then splice it up throughout the season.”

Patrick agreed with that. He had previously recommended that Reggie Miller should’ve interviewed Jordan instead of Mike Tirico. But Chuck feels NBC should’ve at least done a series of interviews, “once a month.”

Both Barkley and Patrick felt that this plan would’ve been more insightful than the current version of MJ’s Insights to Excellence. “Because I thought it was great that we had Michael Jordan back in the NBA. But now you look, and I was like, ‘Yo, he’s wearing the same outfit from August.’ But listen, it’s great to have Michael back in the NBA, but fly somebody down there once a month because, you know, the thing is, so much has happened in the NBA. What he talked about in August has nothing to do with January,” Chuck said.

Chuck felt NBC should’ve diversified their interviews, “Like once a month, fly down to Florida, give him, ‘hey, you guys got 45 minutes to an hour,’ ask him something relevant. Also, ask him stuff that’s relevant in sports. You know, there’s a lot of stuff going on in sports.”

Patrick even volunteered to do the interviews for his former employer. He pictured asking Jordan about the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade buzz and if LeBron James should play a final season in Cleveland. Chuckster wanted to know Jordan’s opinion about the ongoing Bill Belichick saga.

Because he can’t ask that stuff to his former friend directly anymore.

NBC’s rollout disappointed Charles Barkley

Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley had a public fallout in 2012 over the latter’s criticism of the Charlotte Hornets management. Chuck stuck by his commentary but still counts Jordan as a friend. He won’t tolerate a single bad word about him either.

After he turned down NBC’s offer, Sir Charles was excited about Jordan’s analyst debut, even though we didn’t get an in-studio reunion of the two. But what we got was a microdose of MJ’s insights that didn’t connect to the games it aired in between.

The segments felt like archival footage with no relevance to ongoing NBA events and were not remotely analytical. It soon became unpopular, and NBC reportedly shelved any future interviews with Jordan. NBC Sports also took a nine-figure hit from upset fans.

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That was not what Chuck expected from a network that was offering him a $100 million raise over his existing $210 million contract. And if rumors are to be believed, Jordan got a $40 million paycheck for that interview. Yet he was “disappointed” that NBC didn’t capitalize on what Jordan could’ve brought to elevate the NBA.

By clarifying that his anger was directed at the network’s production choices rather than Jordan himself, Barkley maintained his professional integrity and admiration for Jordan.

While NBC continues to air MJ’s summer thoughts in its winter broadcasts with no confirmation of new content, Barkley continues to demand that his old friend be given his due.