As the Boston Celtics need only one game to claim their NBA Championship, some pre-predictions are surfacing ahead of a thriller showdown. One of the most remarkable ones has come from basketball icon Charles Barkley from his appearance on David Letterman’s Netflix show ‘My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.’ It seemed more like a prophecy the way Barkley just made his pick for the NBA Championship on a show that happened way before the playoff semi-finals series. Interestingly, Letterman is known to be a huge Indiana Pacers fan, as he is from Indiana.

Even the Pacers put up a great fight in the playoffs, yet the Dallas Mavericks put up a good fight to move up to the finals against the Celtics. Now, since the Boston Celtics are already leading the finals series against the Mavs by 3-0. Surprisingly, Barkley got a knack for such a result beforehand. When Letterman humorously asked Barkley if the Pacers were going to win the NBA title, the NBA legend gave quite a prophetic response. “The Pacers have a chance, but the Boston Celtics are going to win the championship,“ Barkley made a daunting claim while answering Letterman’s question.

However, as the conversation moved further and Letterman asked if Barkley would bet on the game, the audience got a hilarious response from Barkley. “Well you can’t die with all this money,“ Sir Charles insinuated that he would not mind betting on the Celtics for the title. Notably, the Celtics can win the championship in the next game if they seize the fourth game as well. If, by chance, Barkley would have put his bet on Joe Mazzulla’s squad, he might have earned a good fortune.

Does Charles Barkley have a gambling habit?

Interestingly, Letterman’s statement was not only humorous but also a fact. Barkley himself admitted it last month on the ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast hosted by Shannon Sharpe. Sir Charles had an extensively promising career, earning over $40 million in the NBA throughout his career. After that, he joined TNT as an analyst and has been continuing there since the year 2000. But all the money was not there in his bank account or investments as he had betting habits.

“There’ve probably been seven times when I won a million dollars. But there’ve probably been 25 times when I’ve lost a million,“ Barkley admitted to Sharpe while revealing his horrible experiences in betting. As per his revelation, he had a peculiar need to win millions to get out of the casino happily. Sir Charles used to feel “depressed” due to loss rather than losing more than a million dollars while betting.

However, it did not continue for long, as Barkley quit gambling for two years. But it seems like he still has some spark in him, considering his latest statement on Letterman’s show. What do you all think about it? Let us know in the comments.

But before you go, be sure to check this video of Leonardo Armato’s take on Caitlin Clark vs Angel Reese.

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