“This guy must be high” – Charles Barkley picks Celtics team to win championship, NBA fans claim they have no chance now

Fans feel Celtics are doomed after Charles Barkley 'guarantee'.

“This guy must be high” – Charles Barkley picks Celtics team to win championship, NBA fans claim they have no chance now

Charles Barkley and Jayson Tatum of Boston Cletics (Credits: Boston.com and Fox News)

Charles Barkley recently made a bold “guarantee” that the Boston Celtics would win the championship in 2024. Before the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers’ In-Season Tournament quarterfinals game on Monday night began, Barkley declared with confidence that his team would win the NBA Finals—he even went so far as to guarantee it.

Ever since Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown became prominent players, the Celtics have made every effort to be competitive. This season, Boston (15-4) has a strong chance to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Barkley has selected the Celtics to win the championship despite Kristaps Porzingis‘ injury problems. NBA on TNT featured Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith discussing their favorite championships during a pregame segment. Barkley voiced his opinion when the 15-4 Minnesota Timberwolves were eliminated as a contender.

FS Video
YouTube video

The veteran analyst said, 

I'm still not sold on the Timberwolves. That's just my personal opinion,-- But I'll say this … the Celtics are gonna win the championship. The Boston Celtics are the best team in the NBA. The Boston Celtics are going to win the championship. GUARANTEE.

Now, Barkley’s performance history when offering “guarantees” for predictions is not good. Not surprisingly, the Celtics lost badly to the Pacers 112-122 two hours after the analyst’s bold claims. Jayson Tatum and the Celtics are now eliminated from the In-Season Tournament following their 10-point defeat.

Fans react to Charles Barkley’s bold claims that Celtics will win the championship

Barkley had picked the Miami Heat to win all the games in a matchup between the heavily favored Miami Heat and the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets last season; the Nuggets ended up defeating the Heat four games to one. Barkley made a similar prediction about the Celtics winning the 2022 NBA Finals a year earlier. However, the Golden State Warriors defeated Boston in four games to two.

Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley (Credits: Healthline)

The “guarantee” curse attributed to Barkley is well known throughout the basketball world. NBA Twitter exploded with responses the moment Barkley mentioned the Celtics. However, the Celtics were eliminated from the in-season tournament two hours after making that statement. The NBA on TNT even trolled Barkley on X. Check out some fans’ reactions and how they interpreted the 1993 MVP’s words.

https://twitter.com/Kushbai/status/1732045305724719146

With just weeks to prepare for the upcoming season—Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown being their core players—Celtics brought in a completely revamped roster for the first time, with Jrue Holiday joining them right before the preseason got underway. Despite Porzingis’ continued absence due to injuries, Boston has persevered thanks to strong contributions from backup players.

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