Charles Barkley said Thursday that he likes Clyde Drexler and considered him a great player, but Barkley also felt that Drexler had a jealousy problem on the 1992 "Dream Team."
"I think Clyde has always been jealous of Michael (Jordan), to be honest with you," Barkley said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I think he's always wanted to be compared to Michael.
"Hey, we all want to be compared to Michael, but we're not. Clyde was a great player, but there was always that jealousy of Michael. That was one of the incidents and things about the Dream Team, Clyde was trying to play like it was Game 7 against Michael, and that's probably not a good idea. When Michael is driving his kids to school, he thinks it's Game 7."
And as far as what Drexler reportedly said about Magic Johnson in Jack McCallum's book: "Dream Team," Barkley picked a side in a dispute. McCallum wrote that Drexler said that people pitied Magic because of his HIV diagnosis and that was the only reason he was on the Dream Team. But Drexler later denied it and said the quotes were "totally ludicrous."
"I like Clyde Drexler, but Jack McCallum is a great guy, and I don't think he would misinterpret anything," Barkley said. "I saw some of the statements. I thought they were not very cool at all. I don't think Jack's going to make up ... first of all, he doesn't have to make up anything. ... If I had to believe somebody, I would probably believe Jack McCallum."
Listen to Charles Barkley talk to 'Waddle & Silvy' about the Dream Team, the Bulls and more.