How Michael Jordan Made Charles Barkley Vulnerably Confess to Daughter

Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan's epic 1993 NBA Finals duel was the pinnacle of baskebtall as both friends pushed each other to the limit.

How Michael Jordan Made Charles Barkley Vulnerably Confess to Daughter

Charles Barkley admitted Michael Jordan was better than him (Image via FirstSportz)

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Charles Barkley had without a doubt a great basketball career. League MVP, rebounding phenom, Hall of Famer, all of those individual accolades have defined his legacy. However, he does not have an NBA title to show for, and Michael Jordan had something to do with it.

‘The Round Mound of Rebound’ was an exceptional player. Despite his abilities, and having a good team around him, he could not reach the NBA Finals with the Philadelphia 76ers. With the Phoenix Suns, he believed that lack of Finals appearances would change.

Barkley was on the Dan Patrick Show earlier and talked about how Dream Team head coach Chuck Daly told him he was the 2nd best player in the league. That seemed to tick the forward off, and he promised Daly that he would prove he was the better than Jordan.

As he continued to tell tales from that 1992-93 season, Charles Barkley revealed to his longtime journalist friend how his mindset was shaping up in those days. He recalled what he told his teammates during training camp.

I said, ‘We’re going to play the Bulls in the Finals.’ How you know that? ‘Because I’m the best damn player in the world, and I’m going to prove it.’

Charles Barkley said

He was so sure of his abilities that he predicted before the regular season even started that the Phoenix Suns would meet the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. Knowing how good his close friend was, there was no stopping him to reach the championship game.

Neither was he going to stop his run if he stepped his game up and led his team by example. The result, he was named regular season MVP, and his Suns were the league’s best team with a 62-20 record.

Michael Jordan’ Finals performances forced Charles Barkley to concede

As predicted, Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns reached the 1993 NBA Finals where they would face Michael Jordan’s Bulls. Two games in, and the Suns were down 0-2. That is when doubt crept into his mind, and he revealed what he said to his daughter at the time.

I said, ‘Hey, just relax we’re going to be fine, but I got to tell you something. I ain’t never said this in my life, but I think that guy might be better at basketball than I am.‘

Charles Barkley said

It seems Games 1 & 2 were a spectacle. In the 1st one, His Airness scored 31 points to Chuck’s 21. In the 2nd one, both were tied for a game-high 42 points each. But the former had a near triple double after he notched 12 rebounds and 9 assists.

It seems those performances were enough for Charles Barkley to admit in front of his crying daughter that his then close friend was better than he was at basketball. However, he would not give up and continued fighting.

Charles Barkley and Suns pushed Michael Jordan’s Bulls to 6 games

Charles Barkley and his Phoenix Suns would go on to win Game 3 in epic fashion. After losing both home games, they bounced back and pushed the Chicago Bulls to triple overtime. This time again, Michael Jordan was the best player on the court.

Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan in the 1993 NBA Finals
Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan in the 1993 NBA Finals (Image via Open Source/X)

Barkley and his teammates played an all-round team game to knock the Bulls by a score of 129-121. It was the game that brought life back into this series. The next game, at Chicago, the Suns would lose again after ‘His Airness’ dropped an unreal 55 points.

Not wanting to give up on the road, the Suns battled back in Game 5, and won it on the backs of a complete team performance. But it was not enough as Jordan’s Bulls completed their three-peat at Barkley’s home court.

Jordan would average an NBA Finals record 41 points per game. That performance also brought him a then NBA-record 3rd straight Finals MVP award. The Bulls great would go on to retire after this series, but came back to win 3 more and establish himself as the GOAT.

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