Charles Barkley has been a regular participant in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament, and he revealed he nearly gambled half a million dollars on himself in 2024. During an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Barkley hilariously complained about not being allowed to bet on himself.
“Well, last year I wanted to bet $500,000 on them,” Barkley said. “… I placed the bet, and then they tell me I can’t do it. They say it’s illegal for me to bet on myself… I guess they knew I was gonna win. But they told me it’s illegal for you to bet on yourself. I’m like, ‘If I bet myself to lose, that would be illegal.'”
Host Dan Patrick brought up that boxers are allowed to bet on themselves, which only added to Barkley’s frustration.
“I think they were just full of crap, to be honest with you,” Barkley stated.
Barkley was indeed right to believe in himself last year. Caesars Sportsbook had offered a yes/no prop bet on whether he would finish in the top 70 at the tournament from 2021 to 2024.
Barkley finished 76th in 2021, 74th in 2022, 81st in 2023, and then 58th in 2024. Anyone who backed him last year would have been thrilled to see him put in what was a career-best performance.
Despite Barkley’s heroics last year, he entered this year’s tournament with the longest odds to win it all, at 7,500-1. The 62-year-old isn’t too happy about that, but the over/under for him in the tournament did at least go up to 65.5. The early signs indicate he’s set to finish in the top 65 fairly easily in the 90-player field at Edgewood Tahoe.
Barkley finished round one tied for 24th with nine points for his best-ever single-round performance. The highlight of the day was an eagle from 88 yards at the par-4 second that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Charles Barkley Hole Out! @ACChampionship pic.twitter.com/EE68g0MW5Q
— Nick Conforti (@_NickConforti_) July 11, 2025
Barkley is proving the doubters wrong with his play on the golf course, the way he did all those years ago on the basketball court. He isn’t the only basketball icon at the event, with Stephen Curry taking part as well.
Curry took a hilarious shot at Barkley before the event, and these two have been going back and forth with each other for a few years now. The Golden State Warriors superstar had ruthlessly dismissed the Hall of Famer’s chances of finishing in the top 70 back in 2022.
Barkley hilariously fired back by calling Curry the third-best shooter in his family after his father, Dell, and brother, Seth. It’s not true, though, of course.
Curry is the best shooter and golfer in his family. He finished this first round tied for third in the standings with 21 points. He won the tournament back in 2023 and is hoping to become just the ninth multi-time winner.
Getting back to Barkley and betting on himself, he has landed himself in trouble with that in the past. The NBA once fined him and Mark Jackson $5,000 for having a $500 bet on free throws during a game.
You’d think that, thanks to that experience, Barkley would have realized he was not going to be allowed to bet here either, but that clearly wasn’t the case.
