The man who once told the world he was “not a role model” is accepting all comers who want to wager against the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA Finals.
Charles Barkley said the Thunder would “beat the hell” out of the New York Knicks or Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals during TNT’s pregame show for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday.
Key Takeaways
- The Thunder have a better than four-in-five chance to win the Finals according to odds.
- Barkley estimated he lost $25 million and won $7 million while gambling.
- OKC was 2-0 against the Pacers during the regular season.
The braggadocious Barkley issued a challenge to anyone who is willing to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to prognosticating the next NBA champion.
“The Oklahoma City Thunder are gonna win the championship, and anybody wanna bet me any amount of money, come to my damn house, because I can afford it,” Barkley said on Tuesday, calling the NBA Finals the “Oklahoma City Invitational.”
"The OKC Thunder are gonna win the Championship and anybody that wanna bet... come to my damn house because I can afford it." 😳
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 27, 2025
Chuck NOT mincing words at all 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/GZrU5bLm5A
The Round Mound of Rebound isn’t stepping on a thin branch with those comments. FanDuel sportsbook has the Thunder at -460 (81% implied chance) NBA Finals odds to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in a couple of weeks.
OKC can wrap up Game 5 and the Western Conference Finals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a win Wednesday night. The Thunder are up 3-1 and -7,000 favorites to win the series.
Only 13 teams in NBA history have recovered from a 3-1 deficit, although the Thunder were one of the unfortunate few to blow the lead when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook couldn’t get over the line against the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
Barkley’s betting behavior
Barkley is no stranger to gambling. He struggled with a gambling addiction during his younger days and estimated he’d lost $25 million while only winning $7 million.
“I love to gamble, I don’t like to gamble,” Barkley said during a May 2024 episode of Club Shay Shay with Shannon Sharpe.
His past issues aside, the Hall of Fame forward still enjoys partaking in high-stakes action. He regularly gives picks and parlays for upcoming NBA games during FanDuel-sponsored segments on TNT.
Still, even FanDuel can’t contain all of his excitement. He said during a special appearance as a guest commentator for an NHL match that the American leader in sports betting doesn’t allow him to risk as much as he’d prefer to.
“FanDuel only lets me bet so much so I gotta have a bookie on the side," Barkley said on TruTV’s alternate broadcast of a playoff matchup between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes.
The kiss of death?
Barkley’s NBA predictions are famously flawed. His impassioned “guarantees” often make for great highlights after he is regularly proven wrong.
Barkley earlier in these playoffs incorrectly “guaranteed” the Houston Rockets would beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the first round. He also said “this game is pretty much over” at halftime of the Pacers-Knicks Game 3, only for the Knicks to rally from a 13-point deficit to win by six.
The comedic commentator also went on a 0-21 streak giving parlays during FanDuel’s segment on "Inside the NBA" on TNT, only to finally break through with a +560 bet slip on the final day of the regular season.
Charles Barkley finally hit on a parlay and celebrated with a dance. pic.twitter.com/4zWkKWkgwd
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 11, 2025
The Thunder would likely face the Pacers, who are also up 3-1 in their series, in the Finals.
