Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan used to be close friends. Now Jordan won't talk to him.

Can you guess why? It turns out, Barkley was a little too candid in commenting on Jordan's work in Charlotte.

While the MJ-owned franchise was in the process of putting up the lowest single-season win total in NBA history, Barkley took Jordan to task for the bad job he had done with the team. It doesn't seem like a particularly hostile thing to do -- when you're historically bad, people tend to point it out.

But Jordan is a sensitive man, a highly competitive man, and he wasn't handling the then-Bobcats' losing ways well. When he heard Barkley's comments, he wrote the TNT analyst off.

"I said Michael wasn't doing a good job -- he's doing a great job now, [the Hornets have] gotten better, they've made some great signings -- but they weren't doing good and I thought he didn't have good people around him," Barkley says on the Seth Davis Show. "And I said that, because I was asked that question. Your job is to be an analyst."

Jordan didn't see it that way, though. He felt betrayed by Barkley and lashed out at him with profanity-laced tirades, even as Barkley explained that he couldn't go on the radio or television and argue that Jordan was doing a good job.

Jordan is known as an athlete who likes to surround himself with positive supporters. People who challenge or criticize him aren't given access to his inner circle. Barkley may have been one of his best friends during their playing days, but he broke the code. Now, he's on the outs.

Here's the full interview:

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