NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was heavily featured in parts five and six of ESPN's 10-Part series "The Last Dance," which aired Sunday evening. And as he tends to do, Sir Charles stood out as one of the most compelling characters that has been featured in the docuseries thus far.
Episode five focused heavily on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team, which Barkley and Michael Jordan were teammates - and pretty clearly, friends - on. The second half of episode six, however, highlighted Jordan and the Chicago Bulls completing the first of two three-peats in the 1990s, as they beat Barkley - the league's MVP - and the Phoenix Suns in a classic six-game series in 1993. Barkley acknowledged in episode six that the series humbled him to the point that for the first time in his life, he didn't feel as though he was the best basketball player on the planet.
Following Sunday's episodes, Barkley appeared on SportsCenter and told Scott Van Pelt why he believes that Jordan and 15-time PGA major winner Tiger Woods are the two most dominant athletes that he's ever seen.
"I've been in this game since 1984 - the game of fame or NBA - Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are the two greatest athletes I have ever seen in my life. I've been around a lot of movie stars and I've been around a lot of great athletes - Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are the only two guys that I've ever been around where people actually lose their mind when they see them or they are in the room with them. And I can always say this: it was an honor and a privilege to play against Michael and an honor and a privilege to watch Tiger in his prime. But those are the only two guys...as much as I love Magic and Bird...Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic...and in football, you have Tom Brady who is the greatest football player ever...when you're around Michael and Tiger, there's a different animal and you realize 'I'm around something that's crazy and special.'"
Contrarians may respond to Barkley's statement by frantically searching for someone greater, and perhaps you can find an athlete you personally think was more dominant. Barkley mentioned Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Tom Brady as some of the other great talents he's seen. Certainly, you could throw in Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Rafael Nadal, LeBron James, Jerry Rice, Peyton Manning and Barry Bonds as other options.
Still, there is a larger than life feeling to Jordan and Woods that is bigger than the sports they were dominant at. Bonds was a larger than life character, but did so in an era full of record-breaking performances and in a sport who already had a larger than life historical figure in Babe Ruth. Since Muhammad Ali, it could certainly be argued that Jordan and Woods are the two most culturally important athletes.
Being in a famous Gatorade commercial or having the sport's most played video game series named after you isn't alone enough to make you the greatest athlete. But when coupled with arguably the two greatest peaks in sports history, it's hard to argue against Barkley's assertion.
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