Getty NBA legend Charles Barkley.
It was meant as a compliment, but Charles Barkley’s latest comment on the Boston Celtics could mean the kiss of death for the team.
The “Inside the NBA” analyst recently said he guarantees the Celtics will win the NBA championship. After a quick rundown of some of Barkley’s predictions, his latest guarantee shouldn’t sit well with Celtics fans.
Charles Barkley Guarantees the Boston Celtics Will Win the NBA Title
Barkley didn’t hold back during an in-studio discussion with Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith on December 4.
After Johnson talked about the Celtics, the leaders of the Eastern Conference, and the Minnesota Timberwolves, tops in the West, Barkley went to work in typical Barkley fashion — holding nothing back.
“I’m still not sold on the Timberwolves,” Barkley said. “That’s just my personal opinion. But I will say this: the Celtics are gonna win the championship. The Boston Celtics are the best team in the NBA.”
After Johnson asked Barkley if his comment was “post-it” material, Barkley doubled down.
“The Boston Celtics are going to win the championship,” he said. “GUARANTEED.”
Barkley seemed to hedge a bit, but then said he’s sticking to his prediction.
“Ernie, I will say one thing makes me nervous,” he said. “(Kristaps) Porzingis is hurt. He’s got to be healthy, but I’m still going with the Celtics.”
Barkley believes the addition of Porzingis puts Boston over the top. In 15 games, Porzingis is averaging 18.9 points and 6.7 rebounds.
“(Porzingis) is the fourth-best player on the team,” Barkley said. “He does not have to be dominant. He just has to be the best number four in the NBA.”
“Right now, he’s giving them 19 (points) and 7 (rebounds) a night,” Johnson said.
“And no number four is going to do that,” Barkley said.
Charles Barkley Doesn’t Have a Strong Record With His Guarantees
Barkley has made plenty of guarantees before, and many of them haven’t panned out. He’s been mocked and ridiculed for some of his predictions. Still, he continues to put his guarantees out in the open.
In May, The Sporting News put together a short list of Barkley’s predictions, and it wasn’t pretty. He was 0-for-5 in his first five FanDuel tips for the Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and the Miami Heat.
He predicted the Celtics to win Games 2 and 3 of the series. They lost both. He picked the Heat to win Game 4. The Celtics won convincingly.
Chuck’s final tally on his guarantees is 10/25.
The ones he got right:
— BOS vs WAS PIT
— MIL vs MIA G2
— MIL 4-0 MIA
— PHX 4-2 LAL
— MIL vs BKN G7
— MIL vs ATL G2
— MIL vs ATL G3
— MIL vs ATL G4
— MIL vs ATL G5
— MIL vs ATL G6
He ended with 5 straight correct guarantees.
Even StatMuse kept tabs on Barkley’s guarantees in 2021. Barkley got 10 out of 25 guarantees right, ending with five straight correct predictions to finish with a 10-15 mark. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
The Celtics were eliminated from the NBA In-Season Tournament after the Indiana Pacers surprisingly knocked them out in the quarterfinal round. They were the favorites to win the inaugural tourney. Despite the loss, the Celtics still boast the best record in the Eastern Conference at 15-5.
Boston is still the favorite at most sportsbooks to win the NBA championship, but maybe those odds have changed after Barkley opened his mouth.