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Hall of Famer Charles Barkley provided some insight on the last conversation he had with basketball icon Michael Jordan.
The always outspoken broadcaster revealed the last time Jordan spoke to him was via a profanity-filled phone call.
The pair's severed relationship stems from remarks Barkley made in 2012 when he critiqued Jordan's performance as a team executive.
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Charles Barkley was in attendance for a UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX Nov. 20, 2021, in Las Vegas. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
"I said, ‘Listen, the toughest thing about Michael, he's got to put better people around him.’ Because the toughest thing, when you're famous, they’re on your private jet. You're buying all the drinks. You're buying all the dinners. Very few people are gonna be honest with you,'" Barkley recalled in November during an appearance on the "Let’s Go!" podcast with Tom Brady and Jim Gray.
Barkley has previously mentioned that he has not spoken to Jordan in almost a decade.
On Thursday, Barkley sat down with former NBA players Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes for an episode of "All the Smoke" on Showtime. During the interview, Barnes brought up Barkley and Jordan's strained relationship.
"You and MJ were really close and haven’t spoke in some time. Is there light at the end of the tunnel with that? Do you feel like you guys can mend that?" Barnes asked.
Charles Barkely (34) of the Phoenix Suns chats with Michael Jordan (23) of the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of the 1993 NBA Finals June 18, 1993, at Chicago Stadium in Chicago. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
While Barkley remains fond of Jordan, he said a possible future friendship was not up to him.
"That would be on his end, Matt," Barkley said. "He was my best friend at the time, and I love the guy and miss the guy, but I gotta do my job."
Barkley then reiterated his previous comments about his belief that Jordan surrounded himself with too many people who were afraid to tell him no.
"He was struggling as a general manager or running the team, and I said, ‘I don’t know if he’s ever going to be successful ’cause the people around him are never gonna tell him no,'" Barkley said.
Charles Barkley of the 75th Anniversary Team is introduced during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game Feb. 20, 2022, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. (David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Barkley said his remarks did not go over well with Jordan.
"He went ballistic," Barkley said. "And he called me, and that’s the last thing I heard was ‘m---- f--- you! You supposed to be my boy.’"
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Barkley defended his comments by saying that he was only doing his job.
"And I said, ‘Man, I gotta do my job.’ And we haven’t spoken since that night, and that was probably close to ten years ago."
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