Before Giving Charles Barkley $20,000 Earrings in 1993, Michael Jordan ‘Openly’

Back in the day, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley were the best of friends. Their friendship blossomed when they were teammates on the Dream Team back in 1992, and only developed further over the years. In fact, in 1993, Jordan gifted Barkley with a lovely pair of $20,000 earrings. However, this gift had an ulterior motive behind it, as MJ was trying to get an advantage. How do we know? Well, His Airness has done this before, as revealed in the book The Jordan Rules, which cited another diamond earring His Airness gifted Chuck back in 1990.

Jordan and Barkley are no longer friends anymore. Sir Charles’ decision to criticize the GOAT’s ownership of the Charlotte Hornets put an end to that. However, they once used to be thick as thieves. From their legendary golfing trips to the hilarious banter, they often exchanged. But, if Sam Smith and former Bulls coach Johnny Bach are to be believed, their friendship may have had a false start.

Michael Jordan once gifted Charles Barkley a diamond ear stud to stop the Hall of Famer from hitting him

For the longest time, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley had a very strong bond. The two were great friends who were often spotted hanging out together back in their playing days. It was almost like they were best friends. However, this was far from the truth.

While their friendship did start off with Chuck thinking they were friends, it was the exact opposite for Jordan. In fact, MJ had almost no friends among the other players. Rather, he had players to manipulate. Manipulate and then crush on the basketball court.

As Sam Smith revealed in his book The Jordan Rules, Michael once gifted Sir Charles with a diamond ear stud back in 1990. On the surface, it looked like a nice gift, after all, Chuck had seen His Airness wear a stud and liked it. But, as Jordan jokingly admitted later, he had actually given it to get the Round Mound of Rebound to stop hitting him.

“Before the opening game against Philadelphia, Jordan sent a diamond ear stud over to Charles Barkley with Barkley’s number 34 on it, just like the number 23 Jordan was now wearing in his ear. Rick Mahorn had told Jordan that Barkley had seen a picture of Jordan with his ear stud during training camp and liked it, so Jordan picked one up for Barkley. ‘Maybe it will keep him from hitting me,’ Jordan joked.”

While he may have been joking around at the time, Jordan pulled off a similar trick three years later. Only this time, it wasn’t a joke and MJ really meant to manipulate his good friend.

Jordan openly revealed he had an ulterior motive for gifting Charles Barkley a $20,000 pair of earrings

Michael Jordan was certainly joking back in 1990, but that wasn’t the case three years later. In 1993, MJ gifted Chuck with another pair of earrings. This diamond pair cost around $20,000 and seemed like a nice gift. However, these gifts came around the time the two faced off against each other in the NBA Finals.

As such, many believed that His Airness gifted these earrings in order to get Barkley to lower his guard. And, according to former Bulls coach Johnny Bach, this was actually the case, as Jordan openly admitted to hating the “fat f**k”.

Jordan would end up winning the Finals, and whether or not it was thanks to his manipulative gift, we may never know. But, as always MJ was a force on the court. And, even if he did trick Chuck, there can be no denying that MJ probably would have still come out on top.