Michael Jordan Blatantly Ignores Charles Barkley at the NBA All-Star Game to Accentuate Their Rift

Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

Nearly every basketball fan loves Charles Barkley, but Michael Jordan does not and he made that clear Sunday night during the NBA All-Star Game.

The NBA honored its 75th anniversary team Sunday night, by introducing the top-75 players in league history during halftime of the All-Star Game. Jordan was the final player introduced, saving the best for last, and he strolled through the crowd of NBA legends handing out handshakes and hugs to seemingly everyone in sight.

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Everyone except for Barkley, who stood there awkwardly as he watched Jordan embrace other former players in the area. The neglect from Jordan seemed like an obvious attempt at accentuating his feud with Barkley.

The two NBA legends used to be close friends, until Barkley criticized Jordan’s disappointing ownership tenure with the Charlotte Hornets and the six-time champion took that personally.

“We’re not [friends],” Barkley admitted to Bob Costas last year. “And I take some responsibility for that. I criticized [him]–he was one of my best friends, and I definitely love him and miss him, to be honest with you, but I, Bob, I have to do my job. I said, at the time, and we can debate whether I should have said it, but I was asked a question, and I’m told always be honest at my job. I said, ‘I don’t know if Michael’s ever going to be successful [running the Charlotte Hornets] because I don’t know if he got enough strong people around him.’”

Barkley didn’t state anything unwarranted or surprising when he criticized Jordan, it’s widely known that his ownership tenure has not been nearly as successful as his playing career. Since Jordan became the majority owner of Charlotte’s NBA franchise in 2010, the team has made only two playoff appearances.

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