Longtime ESPN personality Michael Wilbon has largely served as the godfather of the NBA media world in a sense, helping cooler heads prevail between conflicting personalities on a number of occasions. But according to him, even he hasn’t been able to “broker peace” between former NBA stars turned media personalities Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan.
Just last month, ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins spoke to the kind of impact Wilbon has in mending strained relationships, explaining how Wilbon actually played a mediator role between him and Charles Barkley, who apparently no longer have any bad blood after years of low blows against one another.
However, Wilbon has admittedly had far less luck in bringing together two of the most polarizing personalities in the history of the NBA, Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan.
During Friday’s edition of Pablo Torre Finds Out, Torre jokingly asked Wilbon how he still hasn’t been able to “broker the peace” between Barkley and Jordan. And Wilbon responded by explaining that it is still an ongoing task for him to bring the two former friends together, a task that he has been unsuccessful in doing thus far.
“How have you not brokered the peace between Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley yet?” Torre asked Wilbon. “How has that not been your job? How have you not succeeded at that yet?”
“That has been my job,” replied Wilbon. “And that’s all I will say about it. That has been my job.”
“Alright, that’s the other documentary we’re gonna have to work on then,” joked Dan Le Batard. “That one will sell because that friendship used to be a very special friendship. And it doesn’t seem to be anymore.”
“Yeah, that is true,” added Wilbon. “Pablo, it has been my job. It’s been my assigned job.”
.@PabloTorre: “How have you not brokered the peace between Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley yet?”@realMikeWilbon: “Pablo, it has been my job. It has been my assigned job.” pic.twitter.com/UF8sSgI3YE
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) July 18, 2025
As Le Batard referenced, Barkley and Jordan’s relationship may be a bit more difficult for Wilbon to mend because the two did once have a very strong friendship. In fact, Barkley has previously explained that he and Jordan were best friends before Jordan took exception to Barkley’s criticisms of his tenure as the head of basketball operations for the Charlotte Hornets during an ESPN radio show appearance in 2012.
It doesn’t sound like Wilbon is giving up on his efforts to repair the relationship between Jordan and Barkley anytime soon. But given just how stubborn the two have admitted to being throughout their decade without talking, it sure seems like Wilbon has his work cut out for him to bring the former friends back together.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.