Charles Barkley is still convinced his prediction about the Boston Celtics will come true. Yet he’s feeling a tad sympathetic for Kyrie Irving. Chuck dishes his special brand of tough love for Kyrie during his slump of recent years. Yet on SI Media’s podcast, he broke down the unique kind of pressure Irving is under playing Robin.

Irving’s trajectory casts doubt on his longevity. After three trips to the finals, he won his only championship in 2016 with LeBron James. Since his partnership with Bron ended, he’s only had lows bouncing from team to team. It’s finally looking upward for him now that he’s got a strong backcourt partner in Luka Doncic. But that’s the difference between Kyrie and Luka, according to Sir Charles.

“I think you know the way it works most of time you get one, you kind of a made man,” Barkley told Traina. In case you haven’t kept up with your everyday mafia vocabulary, a ‘made man’ is someone who has earned his stripes to become a fully initiated member of the organization. That ring he earned with LeBron did cement Kyrie’s legacy already.

However, Chuck adds, “I think it’d be a tremendous amount of pressure if you want to look like that on Luca cuz he’s been a great, great player for a long time and this is obviously his best chance, probably his best chance of winning.” He went on to reiterate, “The way this thing works, if you get one, you’re kind of a made man, you’re kind of like in a mob.” Apart from Barkley likening the NBA to the mafia, he illustrated the reality for Doncic and Irving with an extreme metaphor.

Charles Barkley’s faith is split

As Barkley spoke, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 and won their first trip to the Finals since 2011. Even now, Barkley maintained that the Celtics have a higher chance of beating the Mavs. Sometimes he riles up Dallas for his hot takes on Irving. Yet a few days ago he raised a few brows when he contended that Kyrie and Luka are the best backcourt duo.

Now Barkley is regarded as one of the best players in NBA history who never won a ring. Doncic, for all his spectacular scoring records, has not won a title outside the Euroleague. And social media circles love to say that they’d consider Doncic in that conversation if he wins the chip.

For the first time in a while, Doncic’s chances of winning his first ring and Irving’s chances of reaching the finals without James is looking real. Their combination gives Dallas renewed hope. So either Chuck’s favorite team wins or his favorite duo – we’d have to wait and see.