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.”
