Charles Barkley Set His Underwear On Fire, TNT Godfather Reveals In Netflix Exclusive

Charles Barkley isn’t one to keep secrets. But it was his frenemy and colleague, Shaquille O’Neal, who first revealed Chuck’s odd practice of going commando. Later, Barkley confirmed it on TV in an interview with Jimmy Fallon as well. Now, TNT’s own, Ernie Johnson, reiterated this fact. In the latest episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, the host and Johnson had a conversation in his office about Barkley’s weaknesses and strengths.

“There are certain things that you probably don’t wanna know that he volunteers…Well, (Barkley) doesn’t wear underwear… He said he burned them all at one time,” the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer said about the odd tradition that Chuck volunteers for. 

Like most fans of the Philadelphia 76ers legend, Ernie admires Chuck’s candidness and fearless attitude in expressing the truth. When Letterman asked if oversharing is a weakness of the 11-time NBA All-Star, Johnson said, “No, we enjoy it when he shares,” in the Netflix series.

There was another secret about Barkley that even Letterman found amusing. Johnson further shared that Chuck isn’t fond of ATMs and has never used them. Barkley also confirmed this in the past while speaking on the infamous Jussie Smollett incident. “Get cash, man. I never use the ATM. I heard you can only withdraw $200 or $500,” Barkley said on NBA on TNT. 

Well, Chuck isn’t the only one with this odd practice. NFL player Patrick Mahomes also has an equally odd ritual for his game days. Mahomes once revealed that he wore the “same pair of underwear” for all his games.

While Letterman confessed that he had never used an ATM either, he found Barkley’s decision very unorthodox. Hilariously, Johnson agreed as well. However, the question remains, how and when did the Phoenix Suns legend make that decision? 

Why did Charles Barkley decide to ban drawers?

Back in 2018, Fallon asked Barkley the same question on The Tonight Show. In response, Barkley shared that he decided to go commando almost 10 years ago. As Johnson described, Chuck indeed got rid of all his underwear. The reason? He felt they were unnecessarily taking up space at his home.

“Jimmy, about ten years ago, I found that drawers… I thought they were unnecessary for space in the house. So, I gathered all my drawers together and had a big old bonfire. I’ve been ten years without underwear and I feel good about it,” Barkley said on the show. He even mentioned it in one of the episodes of the Steam Room podcast. Barkley sure is one of the most eccentric media people.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.