Let’s hope Charles Barkley didn’t visit a sportsbook prior to tonight’s NBA play-in game between the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat. Barkley was so confident the Heat would beat the Hawks, he was willing to bet Shaquille O'Neal $1 billion that Erik Spoelstra’s squad would emerge victorious.
During the pregame TNT telecast, the former 11-time NBA All-Star was even so bold as to state that the “Hawks stink,” and went on to brashly back Miami when questioned by Shaq: “Bet it. Whatever you want to, $1 billion [on Miami].”
Kenny Smith suggested that Charles “should make sure he had a billion dollars to wager [against Shaq],” to which Barkley quickly retorted, “I don’t have to make sure I have a billion, because I am going to win.”
Chuck was willing to bet Shaq a BILLION dollars pregame that the Heat would beat the Hawks tonight 😅 pic.twitter.com/2cXGYDl4Pp
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 12, 2023
But Atlanta, who were 5.5-point road underdogs, went on to upset the Heat 116–105, thanks to a team-high 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists from Trae Young.
Just how bad was Barkley's prediction?
Miami took an early 2–0 lead on an opening basket by Jimmy Butler, but would never possess the lead again the rest of the game.
It’s fair to assume that if Barkley put his money where his mouth was prior to the game, his bank account definitely took a hit.
