“He said some sh** about me in the newspaper!” Charles Barkley reveals CRAZY story of Puerto Rican player falling victim to furious Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan had a habit of going against players who would make negative comments about him.

“He said some sh** about me in the newspaper!” Charles Barkley reveals CRAZY story of Puerto Rican player falling victim to furious Michael Jordan

Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan. (Image via YouTube)

Chicago Bulls’ legend Michael Jordan is more than well-known for his grit, determination, and a constant will to win. That was not only apparent during an illustrious NBA career, but also with respect to the plethora of stories about gambling, and well, golf.

For Charles Barkley, who saw MJ mostly as a rival during their playing days, his competitiveness was always evident, even off-court. The two had been close friends for years before getting into an altercation which emanated from Barkley’s criticism of MJ’s stint as the Charlotte Hornets owner/president.

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At the 1992 Olympics, the famous dream team which included both Chuck and MJ was scheduled to play against Puerto Rico. However, Barkley, Jordan, and the likes of Chuck Daly and David Robinson were playing golf on the morning of the game. 

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Once the group was done, MJ decided to play another round and simply told coach Daly that he would be “fine,” once he brought up the game against Puerto Rico. Speaking on a podcast, Barkley revealed this was the day when he first realized Jordanw was simply crazy:

This is when I knew Michael Jordan was crazy. Michael’s the most competitive people I’ve ever been around in my life.  As Daly was handing out defensive assignments, Jordan simply said, “No, I got the point guard.

When pressed, Jordan explained his reasons for the same. He claimed that he wanted to stop the PG from playing simply because he had said something about him to reporters:

I said. I got. The point guard. He said some s*** about me in the newspaper, and I’m gonna get him.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zcoWwIkCJQg

What followed, as one would expect, was a dominating performance. Jordan not only managed to single-handedly get the win for his team, he also ensured that the Puerto Rican player would not be commenting on his game anytime soon, in the future.

Charles Barkley and Karl Malone were stunned with Michael Jordan’s competitiveness

Jordan’s competitive spirit led to a total of 6 NBA titles, alongside a range of individual awards. Barkley also revealed during the interview that he already knew the Puerto Rico player was in trouble, once MJ decided to guard him alone.

The 1992 Dream Team. (Image via Olympics.com)

Not only was Jordan willing to dominate on-court, he was also willing to go against his coach’s wishes in order to prove his point. This resulted in the entire dream team looking around at each other. Barkley revealed that he even told Karl Malone that the ‘kid was crazy’:

We was looking around like, ‘uh oh, this little kid’s in trouble. He played 36 holes of golf, and he’s guarding this guy like it’s Game 7. And he’s talkin’. ‘Don’t you ever say my damn name!’ I’m looking at Karl Malone. I’m like, ‘Yo, man. There’s something wrong with this dude.'

The hilarious story effectively proves yet another element of Jordan’s competitiveness. It must be noted that at this time, Jordan had only won a single NBA championship. While he had established himself as one of the best players in the league, the 29-year-old was about to go on a rampage and went on to win 5 more titles in a period of just 7 years.

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