Charles Barkley hates on Lakers, loses billion-dollar bet to Shaq

Charles Barkley’s new TNT deal must pay very well.

The “Inside The NBA” personality lost a billion dollar bet with co-host Shaquille O’Neal after the Hawks beat the Heat 116-105 in Tuesday’s NBA play-in game.

During the pregame show on TNT, Barkley was going on about how the Hawks “stink,” and predicted that Miami would defeat Atlanta.

Shaq, who’s a known Hawks supporter, then challenged Barkley to bet on it.

“Bet it, whatever you to,” Barkley said, suggesting a friendly wager of “a billion dollars.”

That’s when a smiling Shaq started doing his infamous Hawk call — however, he did not bring out his money wings that he previously trolled Barkley with.

At one point, Kenny Smith suggested that Barkley “should make sure he had a billion dollars to wager [against Shaq]” — to which the Hall of Famer said: “I don’t have to make sure I have a billion, because I am going to win.”

The Hawks, who were 5.5-point underdogs on the road, rolled past the Heat to secure the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a first-round date with the No. 2 Celtics.

“Shaq is one billion dollars richer today,” Smith said after the game.

“More money, more problems, Barkley said, laughing.

Ernie Johnson busted Barkley, adding, “How about that Chuckster, 116-105.”

The official Twitter account for the Hawks even joined in on the fun, and replied to O’Neal and Barkley’s wager with a meme and crying-laughing emojis.

Hawks guard Dejounte Murray also replied to a message on Twitter that included ESPN’s play-in predictions, which had Miami unanimously defeating Atlanta.

“JOKES ON YOU MFS!!!!” Murray wrote in a quote-tweet.

Shaq and Barkley have made bizarre wagers in the past.

In 2022, Shaq said he would stick his hand in a hornet’s nest on “Inside the NBA” if Charlotte upset Atlanta.

Barkley also ripped the Lakers after their overtime win against the Timberwolves on Tuesday to advance to face the No. 2 Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.

“They didn’t deserve to win this game tonight,” Barkley said. “This was all about the Wolves choking this game away.”

LeBron James and big man Anthony Davis combined for 54 points in the Lakers’ 108-102 overtime win over Minnesota.

Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns, who tallied 24 points in regulation, didn’t record a single point in the fourth quarter and overtime as he dealt with foul trouble.

The Hawks face the Celtics in Game 1 on Saturday.

Miami will now play the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between the No. 9 Raptors and the No. 10 Bulls, with the winner advancing to play the top-seeded Bucks in the playoffs.