KEY POINTS

  • Michael Jordan was upset at Charles Barkley winning the 1993 NBA MVP
  • Jordan defeated Barkley and the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals
  • Barkley realized Jordan was better than during Game 2 of the title series

Michael Jordan got eclipsed by Charley Barkley for the 1993 NBA MVP award, and the former Chicago Bulls superstar took it personally. Facing each other in the Finals of that year, Jordan bared the individual loss gave him the extra motivation to seize their first three-peat, in the process denying Barkley of a championship.

Jordan recalled his personal rivalry with Barkley in the latest episode of “The Last Dance”, describing the impact of the personal setback and how it triggered him to have a huge chip on his shoulder entering the ’93 title series against the Phoenix Suns.

“I was a little bit upset that I didn’t get the MVP that year and they gave it to Charles Barkley,” Jordan said. “But with that said, OK fine you can have that, Imma get this.”

Jordan spoke it into existence as he led the Bulls to their third straight title in six games. He averaged 41 points, 8.5 boards, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals in almost 46 minutes of action as he shot the ball at an efficient 50.8% overall and 40% from beyond the arc, enough to earn his third Finals MVP plum.

Barkley, on the other hand, put up 27.3 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.2 steals on 47.6% field goal shooting per game.

The former basketball star turned TV analyst also appeared in the docuseries and recounted the exact moment during the championship series when he realized Jordan was better than him.

“Game Two, I played as well as I could play, and Michael just outplayed me. That was probably the first time in my life that I felt like there was a better basketball player in the world than me, to be honest with you,” Barkley said.

Jordan and Barkley went on a virtual mano-a-mano in the said game as each scored 42 apiece while playing at least 40 minutes on the floor. Jordan flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 12 boards and nine assists. Barley, meanwhile, had 13 boards and shot the ball at an outstanding 61.5% rate, but it all just went for naught as the Suns suffered a 0-2 hole before eventually losing the series.

9. Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is so good at so many things that some of his strengths have been overshadowed.One of them is his raw power.Early in his career, he used it to dunk on all kinds of players. For such a skinny guy, the power he dished out was incredible.In mid career, Jordan’s power as a dunker peaked and he physically dominated and dunked on guards who were simply too weak and small.It was only later in his career that he developed and came to rely on his patented turnaround jumper. Reuters
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