‘It’s going to be personal.’ Calipari, Barkley swap tales of Jordan’s competitiveness.
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Coffee with Cal
University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari is hosting a weekly show on Facebook Live called “Coffee with Cal” in which he interviews influential individuals from the worlds of sports, media, politics and beyond. The shows are designed to benefit COVID-19 relief and draw attention to the Black Lives Matter movement. Click below to read the Herald-Leader’s stories recapping previous shows.
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To hear John Calipari and Charles Barkley reminisce during Monday’s episode of the “Coffee with Cal” show was to gain an appreciation for Michael Jordan’s competitive zeal.
The Kentucky coach and the Hall of Fame player traded stories about competing against Jordan. That experience led both to agree about the best chance for survival.
“The worst thing you can do is (tick) him off, am I right?” Calipari said. “Like don’t engage him.”
To which, Barkley said, “Yes. Because it’s going to be personal.”
Barkley recalled playing on the United States’ 1992 Olympic basketball team, also known as the “Dream Team” because of a roster bulging with future Hall of Famers.
Before a tune-up game against a team from Puerto Rico, U.S. Coach Chuck Daly went over defensive assignments. When Daly ordered a matchup of point guards, Jordan interrupted. “No, I got him,” he said of the Puerto Rican point guard.
Barkley recalled Daly pointing out that Jordan did not play the point guard position. That Jordan had played 36 holes of golf that morning no doubt factored in Daly’s decision to put a smaller and presumably quicker player on the Puerto Rican point guard.
Jordan then told the coach, “I read something he said about me in the newspaper, and I got him.”
Jordan got him.
“Michael wouldn’t let this little dude dribble . . . ,” Barkley said. “Thirty-six holes, and he’s talking to the guy the whole time. ‘Hey, don’t you ever talk about me in public again! I’m Michael Jordan!’”
Calipari encountered “Michael Jordan!” while coaching the New Jersey Nets. As Calipari recalled, Kerry Kittles scored 17 points against Jordan in the first quarter of a game.
Then Calipari noticed Jordan staring daggers at him. Once he had Calipari’s attention, Jordan formed a circle with his hand.
Calipari asked an assistant coach to interpret this body language. But Calipari quickly figured it out.
“He’s not going to let Kittles get another basket,” said Calipari, adding, “he didn’t score another basket in three quarters.”
A few minutes later in the show, Barkley rated the best NBA players of all time. He put Jordan at No. 1.
In no particular order, Barkley said he would put Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the next four best players. He added that he had Kobe Bryant and LeBron James at Nos. 6 and 7.
“The closest I’ve probably seen to Michael is Kobe,” Barkley said. “That is no disrespect to LeBron. I compare LeBron more to Magic (Johnson).”
Barkley found James lacking Jordan’s competitiveness. “He’s not a natural born killer,” Barkley said. “That’s the big difference. LeBron is a nice guy. . . . He’s a great, great person and a great, great player.”
But . . .
Jordan’s attitude was “I want to win at all cost,” Barkley said. “LeBron wants to win, but I don’t think it’s life and death to him.
“Michael was obsessed.”
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 2:35 PM.
