Over the years, NBA Hall of Famer and former league MVP Charles Barkey has carved out one of the most unique careers for himself out of anyone that has ever attempted the transition from sports player to sports media personality. Barkley was one of the most dominant players of his era in the 1990s and probably would have a championship to his name if Michael Jordan didn’t exist, and has since transitioned into a lovable personality who is essentially paid (handsomely) to make fun of himself on TNT’s NBA analysis show Inside the NBA.
Barkley loves a lot of things, and apparently, one of them is gambling, as he recently outlined on a visit to NFL legendary tight end Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, recently highlighting his addictive mindset on the subject.
“Yes, that’s all it is, and they’re like dude why can’t you win $300,000 and say man we had a great weekend, why do you got to win a million,” said Barkley, per Club Shay Shay on YouTube. “He says why can’t you lose $300,000 and say we still had a great weekend. I said are you serious right now, he said man you know I ain’t going to lie to you, let’s win a couple hundred thousand have a great weekend and go home or lose two or three hundred, you ain’t got to win a million, you ain’t got to chase it and lose a million.”
Barkley also outlined some times where he attempted to quit but ultimately came back.
“There’s probably seven times that I won a million dollars, but there’s probably been 25 times I’ve lost a million right. So what happened was I quit gambling for two years and I always take the same group of guys with me, and I said man I miss gambling. They’re like why don’t you start gambling again, I said well man It was getting out of hand, they’re like yo man your gambling ain’t getting out of hand, you’re just a f—–ing idiot. ”
The NBA’s gambling problem
Barkley is of course one of many NBA sports media personalities who is paid to endorse various sportsbooks virtually every other sentence during his show. Over the last few years, Adam Silver and the rest of the NBA brass have shown a willingness to collaborate with gambling companies at an alarming rate, to the point where now live point spreads and player props are being broadcast live during the game to fans–including young children–watching at home.
Recently, the NBA found itself at a crossroads with this issue when Toronto Raptors big man Jontay Porter was found to have illegally placed bets on himself and was subsequently banned from the league for the rest of his life. To say that the league is sending mixed messages on its willingness to dabble in the gambling world would be an understatement.
In any case, fans can watch Barkley and his co-hosts endorse FanDuel and give their live betting predictions on Thursday evening on TNT.
