Charles Barkley Told Michael Jordan He'd Never Wear Air Jordans Again

"Hey, send me a pair of shoes. I just want to tell you how much I appreciate everything you did for me, giving me advice on that Nike stock that made me $30 million dollars," said Barkley (more on that below).

"But, man, I put his shoes on one game... He is definitely the greatest **** basketball player ever, Dan. Those were the heaviest **** things I ever played in in my life," Barkley said without cracking a smile.

"I'm not even joking because when I designed my shoes, I wanted them really, really light. I played in them heavy-*** Air Jordans one game; it was like I had bricks on my **** feet, Dan. I'm being 100% serious."

Barkley explained, "I called him [Jordan] after the game. I said, 'Yo man, what the **** you be putting in these ***** shoes?' They were so **** heavy, Dan." It was not a great endorsement for the Air Jordan line, but Barkley had plenty of positive things to say about Jordan.

Before and after trashing Air Jordan sneakers, Barkley showered Jordan with praise. During his story about wearing the Air Jordans, he and Patrick had a quick sidebar about the legendary contract advice Jordan gave Barkley early in his career when he still played for the Phoenix Suns.

"We were playing golf. He said, 'Chuck, I want you to quit taking $3 million. Take a million and the remaining $2 million in stock options," recounted Barkley.

Barkley told his business team, and they informed him that it was a risky move. They asked if he really believed in Jordan. Barkley assured them he was confident in Jordan's advice. "I ended up probably making another $50 million, to be honest with you."

Barkley summed up Jordan's impact on the sneaker industry by saying, "People buy shoes because of Michael freaking Jordan. That's it. That's no disrespect to some of these other guys out here selling shoes. But Michael Jordan makes people wear shoes to weddings! Nobody ever thought about wearing shoes to weddings until Michael Jordan."

Sneakerheads who watched Barkley's interview on the Dan Patrick Show took exception to some of what he said. Mostly, his Nike CB line was known for being chunky and heavy — especially compared to Jordans.

Also, Barkley wore the Air Jordan 14 again in 1999. Nike CEO Phil Knight sent every Nike athlete a pair, asking them to wear the shoes for at least one game to pay tribute to the recently retired Jordan.

Nevertheless, it was a funny and entertaining story. Hopefully, Barkley and Jordan will one day settle their beef and become friends again. If for no other reason, it would give fans more stories about Barkley complaining to Jordan.

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