Nov 22, 1993; Phoenix, AZ, USA; NBA superstars Michael Jordan (left) and Charles Barkley during the filming of a Nike shoe commercial at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK
Former friend and rival of Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley once revealed a hilarious story about his time playing golf with the Chicago Bulls legend. Barkley revealed that while he was out playing holes for as much as $300, his friend would order him around, simply because of the kind of money he would be betting on the games. Barkley hilariously revealed that one $300,000 hole led to Jordan asking him to get out of his way.
While he was initially reluctant, Barkley simply went out of commission for the day, once he heard the kind of money that was at stake, according to an Instagram video by Boardroom.
Barkley initially explained that there was no point playing golf if money was not at stake, for one reason or another. He went on to reveal that things were so out of hand while playing alongside Jordan that he was privy to a range of games that had hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake.
Once, during such a game, MJ asked Chuck to get out of his way. “We’d be playing couple of hundred thousand dollars a hole, and he would be playing some guy for like 100 thousand dollars. And he is like, ‘Charles, pick that up,’ I am like, this putt is for $200. He is like, ‘pick that up Charles get out of my way,” Barkley obviously had questions before obliging, and simply got out of Jordan’s line of sight once they were answered.
“How much is that putt for? He is like ‘$300 thousand dollars,’ I was like let me get out of your line. It was crazy man. They were playing for like hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said.
“That’s chump change, we call it in the hood. First of all, let’s be real. He got so much money, $100,000 ain’t a lot to him,” Barkley explained, revealing his struggles in trying to keep up with the man who is now worth over $3 billion.
While Chuck also did pretty well for himself and was an avid gambler, there was no way he could ever be keeping up with the legendary Micahel Jordan. That said, it is no wonder that people accused Jordan of having a serious gambling problem during that era.
Michael Jordan was a legendary gambler
Of course, Jordan’s reputation surpasses him. Not only as a player but also as a huge gambling addict.
Michael Jordan is known to have been gambling since even before making it to the NBA, and the habit only worsened, over time. Always willing to bet on anything and everything, Jordan’s determination to win meant that he would find himself putting insane amounts of money at stake. This even led to him once accumulating a gambling debt of over $1 million.
Be it golfing, animated races, or general life, MJ would usually be willing to put money where his mouth was. Things were so bad that when he announced his first retirement in 1993, rumors swirled that it was actually due to a gambling suspension, according to Casino.org. Hence, Charles Barkley was always going to be out of his element, whilst gambling around Michael Jordan.
