Thanks to the ESPN docuseries on Michael Jordan called "The Last Dance," the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons are now being brought back into the National sports conversation. At the time, the Pistons were one of the toughest teams in professional sports and were making opponents extremely upset on a nightly basis. While Jordan's struggles with the Pistons are well-documented, Charles Barkley had his fair share of issues with the Pistons, as well.
During an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, Barkley went off on the Pistons and accused them of not being as tough as they let on. As he explains, there were very few players on the Pistons who actually knew how to fight and that the majority of the team didn't want the smoke with him.
“You know what’s really funny about that Pistons team? Only two guys on that team could fight: Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars,” Barkley said. “Rodman couldn’t fight, (John) Salley couldn’t fight, (Rick) Mahorn couldn’t fight, (Bill) Laimbeer couldn’t fight. I mean, Vinnie Johnson and James Edwards could fight, but the main four guys I just mentioned, none of them could fight a lick.”
These claims are easy to make now although back in the late 80s and early 90s, it's clear that Barkley had a tough time against Isiah Thomas and company. Even 30 years later, these wounds still run deep.