Charles Barkley started his NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers, but he was introduced to Phoenix in 1993, when he began playing for the Suns.
Barkley has maintained a residence in the Phoenix area ever since. While the 61-year-old basketball TV analyst has recently undergone a drastic weight loss in an effort to be as healthy as possible, he has also given some thought to his final wishes.
During an appearance on Arizona Sports, Barkley said he ultimately does not want to leave Phoenix without being cremated. The next step of his request involves some of his ashes being spread in Phoenix, as well as a Las Vegas casino.
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Phoenix Suns former player Charles Barkley in attendance at Footprint Center in Phoenix on Jan. 21, 2023. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
“I love living in Phoenix; I’m never leaving Phoenix alive,” Barkley said. “When I leave Phoenix, they’re gonna cremate my fat a–.
“… My a– is so big, I’m like, I want some ashes in Alabama, I want some ashes in Phoenix and I want the rest at a casino in Vegas. We just got to pick out which casino.”
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While the Hall of Famer has experienced his fair share of good fortune on the basketball court, the odds were often not in his favor when he was at a gambling table. Earlier this year, Barkley told Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe that he lost an estimated $25 million of his fortune due to gambling.
Charles Barkley talks with the media prior to Game Four of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics at American Airlines Center on June 14, 2024 in Dallas. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
“There’s probably been seven times that I won a million dollars,” he said. “But there’s probably been 25 times I’ve lost a million,” he said on a May episode of Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast.
“I had to change my mentality because you can never break the casino, [but] they can break your a–.”
College basketball analyst Charles Barkley on air before the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four championship game. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Barkley played in the NBA for 16 seasons. During that time, he said he believes he suffered around $10 million in gambling losses. He has spent more than two decades as one of the stars of TNT’s popular “Inside the NBA” program.
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In July, Barkley revealed that his contract with the network was worth $210 million. He made the comments shortly after the NBA rejected a bid from Warner Bros. Discovery, TNT’s parent company, to exercise its right to match an offer from Amazon for a part of the league’s 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal.
At the time, Barkley contemplated retiring from broadcasting. However, he ultimately announced he would return to TNT for the 2024-25 NBA season.
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