Barkley played against the legend in the 1993 NBA Finals
Charles Barkley reveals his daughter was left in floods of tears because of Michael Jordan after the six-time champion beat her dad in the 1993 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns.
The Bulls’ game six win, sealed by John Paxson‘s memorable three-pointer, capped a dominant string of performances by Jordan, who averaged 41 points and led Chicago to a 99-98 victory in Arizona with a 4-1 series win.
Whilst the then-30-year-old Barkley posted 21 points and 17 rebounds in the final game, it wasn’t enough to stop Chicago from walking away with yet another NBA title in the bag.
And it turns out the defeat was more than a professional disappointment; it became a personal heartache for Barkley, who later shared a painful story involving his young daughter.
“I remember going home, and my daughter was crying,” Barkley told Spittin’ Chicklets. “She said, ‘Dad, you told me you all were going to win.’
“And I remember telling her, I said, ‘I got to be honest with you, that guy’s better at basketball than me.’
“I said, I’m not giving up. But I said, I’ve never said somebody was better than basketball than me because obviously it’s a team game. But I said, he is actually.”
It was a raw admission from a man who, for most of his career, saw himself as one of the NBA’s elite but bluntly admitted he didn’t even have what it took to stop the Bulls dynasty.
Barkley backs Jordan over LeBron in GOAT debate
NBA legend Charles Barkley is no stranger to sharing his unfiltered opinions, and when it comes to the ever-heated debate about the greatest basketball player of all time, his stance remains unchanged.
Barkley once again voiced his support for Michael Jordan as the undisputed GOAT, placing LeBron James notably lower on his personal all-time list as the Los Angeles Laker came in seventh.
“I’ve always said LeBron on my list; he’s number seven all-time,” Barkley stated to the Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich, putting him behind Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, and Kobe Bryant.
For Barkley, the key factor in evaluating greatness isn’t career longevity or cumulative stats, but how dominant a player was in their prime and he actually points to LeBron’s endurance as a reason why Jordan is better.
“LeBron has played how many more seasons than MJ and he’s still behind him? That’s crazy,” Barkley continued, reflecting sentiment common among players from his era.
Despite LeBron’s historic statistical achievements, such as becoming the outright highest NBA points scorer, and unprecedented longevity after debuting back in 2003, Barkley stands firm in his belief that Jordan set the ultimate standard.
