Charles Barkley says his long break with Michael Jordan is ending. The Hall of Famer said Friday that he and Jordan talked within the last 72 hours and plan to play golf once basketball season is over.
“We had a conversation. We’re going to get together and play golf as soon as basketball is over,” Barkley said on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Unleashed with Chris Russo. He added, “We talked, actually, in the last probably 72 hours,” and, “We decided to get together and play golf as soon as basketball is over.”
Barkley also pushed back on the idea that their friendship was anywhere near as fractured as the one between Prince William and Prince Harry. “Hey, we’re not like Prince William and Prince Harry. We always had a lot of love for each other,” he said. The comment marked a rare public update on two men who once shared Team USA locker rooms in the 1990s and have spent much of the past 14 years on uneasy terms.
The rift dates to 2012, when Barkley publicly criticized Jordan while Jordan was serving as part-owner and head of basketball operations of the Charlotte Hornets. At the time, Barkley said he did not think Jordan had hired enough people around him who would disagree with him, adding, “I love Michael, but he just has not done a good job.”
He revisited that strain again in 2020, saying he felt sadness about losing someone who had been like a brother for more than two decades. The two men now sit in prominent media roles, with Barkley as a broadcaster and Jordan serving as a special contributor for NBA on NBC. Jordan also holds a minority ownership stake in the Hornets, a team whose postseason hopes were ended by the Orlando Magic in the Play-In Tournament.
For now, Barkley’s remarks point to a thaw, not a truce signed in public. The question is whether a round of golf after basketball season is enough to close a 14-year spat that has survived criticism, distance and time.
