Charles Barkely lost an eye-watering $1billion (£799million) bet with fellow NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal after his prediction of the Miami Heat beating the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament backfired on Tuesday night.
The 1993 NBA MVP predicted the Heat to comfortably beat the Hawks, who have had a far from consistent regular season. In fact, big changes are expected to come at the Hawks, with star man Trae Young potentially being traded away should a good deal be put forward.
“Yeah they going to beat the Hawks, come on, the Hawks stink,” Barkley, 60, said. “Bet whatever you want to. A billion dollars.”
