Charles Barkley did little to repair his relationship with fellow NBA legend Michael Jordan when he took aim at his NBC interview.
Jordan sent shockwaves around the NBA when he agreed to join NBC as a ‘special contributor’ for this season’s coverage.
Yet, the six-time NBA champion has made limited appearance on the network with his special contributions coming in the form of three segments clipped from one sit-down interview with Mike Tirico, branded ‘MJ: Insights to Excellence’.
Barkley, who previously clashed with Jordan over his criticism of the Charlotte Hornets franchise, slammed NBC over its use of the Chicago Bulls icon.
‘It’s a bad look for NBC and it’s just a bad look, plain and simple,’ Barkley said on SiriusXM Radio on Wednesday, via Awful Announcing.
Advertised as an analyst for NBC, Jordan’s insights during his interviews have focussed on broad topics around the league.
Charles Barkley (right) took aim at NBC over its coverage with Michael Jordan (left)
‘I was excited. We need Michael Jordan affiliated with the NBA, but now you see this thing coming out with NBC and you’re like, ‘Wait, y’all did one interview like five months ago and y’all gonna sprinkle it throughout the season?’ Come on, man,’ Barkley said.
‘That’s disingenuous by NBC. That’s crazy, man. I’m so disappointed at the way that worked out.’
Barkley hasn’t been the only one to take issue with the coverage, with fans also being left underwhelmed with Jordan’s impact. However, Tirico leapt to the basketball great’s defense earlier this month.
On SI Media With Jimmy Traina, Tirico said: ‘Michael doesn’t talk much, as you know. Michael still has so many interests in the game, business interests, with a piece of the Hornets and obviously his involvement with [Jordan Brand].
‘Are there a ton of topics you’d love to get to? Of course. But Michael wanted to talk about where he sees the game right now. And we haven’t heard a lot of that.
‘It was interesting. It was fun. It was good perspective. My takeaway was how much he cares about the game still. He loves the game.
‘And in some regards [he] doesn’t love the direction of the game and wanted to talk about it. It was a great forum. His longevity and connection with the NBA on NBC made it possible.’
Tirico continued by reflecting on his interview with Jordan and admitted that it was likely not the content that many fans had been expecting from the NBA legend.
The NBA legend has appeared on NBC in limited pre-recorded appearances this season
Mike Tirico (left), who interviewed Jordan for NBC, defended the coverage this month
‘Was it what everyone wanted? Probably not. Was it better than not hearing from Michael Jordan? You’re damn right it was,’ Tirico said. ‘And if we get another shot at it, will I be more than excited to be part of it? You betcha.
‘In our world right now, all you want to do is make the final answer before you know everything. I love that Michael trusted us enough to sit and do something he hasn’t done in a long, long, long time – to talk about where the game is right now.
‘And there’s still a few more to come that will still be pitch perfect for the moment, although it’s not gonna talk about Nikola Jokić [getting] injured four weeks ago for Denver. We got a hundred people talking about that.
‘We don’t have the greatest player of all time talking about what he sees as the evolution of the game.’
Barkley and Jordan were once close friends until their friendship quickly deteriorated with their rift dating back to 2012.
Back in December, the Hall of Famer revealed that the pair have not spoken since a blistering late-night phone call in 2012, after Barkley criticized Jordan’s performance as Hornets owner.
Barkley delivered the scathing assessment on an episode of TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’ and revealed that, on the same night, he got a call from a frustrated Jordan.
‘He called me that night and went ballistic on me,’ Barkley told the Tom Tolbert show. ‘He said ‘you supposed to be my best friend and you’re going to do that bulls***?’.
The Chicago Bulls icon and Barkley were once close friends until a rift developed in 2012
Barkley, known for his unfiltered honesty since becoming an analyst, refused to back down despite the intimidating outburst from his friend, the Chicago Bulls icon.
‘I told him I have to do my job and you haven’t been a good GM,’ Barkley admitted.
‘How can I criticize other people and give him a pass? When other guys make bad draft picks, I call them on it too’.
The exchange reportedly devolved into a one-sided shouting match as Jordan took the criticism personally.
