Charles Barkley once made $700,000 through a single bet on his close friend Bill Belichick
Charles Barkley has never shied away from his love of gambling. The former Phoenix Suns star has often discussed placing a bet, with mixed success. Fortunately, Barkley's enjoyment of gambling has never affected his decision-making ability, allowing him to amass an impressive net worth.
It's also worth noting that Charles Barkley has also experienced some big wins. According to a 2002 report by Sports Illustrated's Jack McCallum, Charles Barkley once won $700 thousand on a single bet.
"Barkley is still under contract to Nike and recently filmed a commercial for Coors," McCallum wrote. "He estimates his net worth at $35 million, a figure that goes up or down depending on his luck in Las Vegas.
"He bet more than $500,000 on the Patriots in the Super Bowl (New England coach Bill Belichick is a close friend) at the Mandalay Bay Sports Book and walked away $1.2 million ahead. He's not always that fortunate, though, and he admits that, 'Gambling is my vice, and I'll have to address it sometime in the future. But not now.'"
Barkley was once one of the most dominant forwards the NBA has ever seen, spending 16 seasons in the league. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets. Unfortunately, Barkley never tasted a championship. However, it's clear the former big man has tasted multiple levels of success when placing a bet.
Charles Barkley doesn't regret not winning a championship
During a November 2022 article for HoopsHype, Timothy Bella released a segment of his Charles Barkley biography, where the former Phoenix Suns star revealed that he doesn't regret not winning an NBA championship:
"I don't think a championship would do that much for me. It won't make me feel like, 'Well, now my life is complete.' Trust me, my life is pretty damn complete. I always tell people, I don't think that anybody could have had a better life than me. I really don't."
Barkley played in what many people consider to be the golden generation of the NBA. A team that became a significant roadblock for Charles Barkley was the 1990s' Chicago Bulls, which boasted Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
Charles Barkley wouldn't buy a small stake in an NBA team
During a 2022 appearance on The Bill Simmons podcast, Barkley revealed how he would like to buy into an NBA team, but not if he was only going to own a minority share.
"I'm not gonna waste a lot of money for 5%, so I can say, 'I'm one of the owners of a team,'" Barkley said. "I'd rather have that money. My ego's not like, 'Yeah, I'm one of the owners of the Suns. I got like $20 million in it, I own a percentage.' I'd probably rather have the $20 million, personally."
In modern times, NBA teams sell for billions of dollars. As such, we're unlikely to see Barkley buying into an NBA team, as he would likely only be a minority share holder despite injecting a significant portion of his net worth.
Instead, Barkley will likely continue with his role on the TNT post-game show with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal.