Charles Barkley Name Drops Amazon Rival To Emphasize Championship Importance for This Season’s Winners

“I hate superteams because you’re cheating.” Charles Barkley has been loud and clear about his disdain against players forming super-teams to win championships. No wonder that despite having predicted as Oklahoma City Thunder as this season’s winners, Chuck is excited for both teams being in the finals, and either one winning the title will be a bigger deal than usual championship wins, according to Barkley.

It was during one of the recent episodes of SiriusXM NBA Radio, the question popped up if it means more for players like Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win this season than some of the players who allegedly bent things their way to win chips? To prove that it does, Charles Barkley did not hesitate to bring in his rival from Amazon Prime.

That would be Dirk Nowitzki. The very NBA legend who recently joined Amazon Prime Video’s new NBA studio team. Alongside Taylor Rooks and Blake Griffin, Dirk is set to be one of the faces of Amazon’s ambitious new broadcast deal, a massive 11-year, $20 billion pact with the league. Meanwhile, Barkley is set to join ESPN’s Inside the NBA starting next season. But that did not prevent Charles Barkley from bringing in Dirk as his witness to his claim that it means more for Haliburton or SGA to win the title.

“Why don’t you ask Dirk Nowitzki that? He’ll tell you privately. Hell yeah, that means a lot more. Especially, he beat a quote, unquote super team,” Barkley said, referencing Dirk’s win over the Miami Heat that boasted the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

“It definitely means more to the players, and I think it means more to the city, to be honest with you… That’s just my opinion… Dirt Nowitzki, I know it means a lot to him… You think they would have been happy for Reggie Miller if he went somewhere and won… It means a lot more if you can do it somewhere when you went through the grind,” Chuck said, crediting LeBron James for going back and winning one with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Now, some could wonder why not express a similar excitement for the last season’s winner, the Boston Celtics?

Why consider the 2024 Boston Celtics a super team?

If we’re talking about super teams in the NBA, we have to start where it all began—Boston, 2007. That summer, the Celtics didn’t just make moves; they set the blueprint. By adding Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to longtime star Paul Pierce, Boston transformed overnight into a 66-win juggernaut. Importantly, they did it by bringing in stars from outside—two of them, to be exact. That move reshaped how we define super teams: build around one homegrown star, but bring in at least one elite piece from elsewhere. That recipe caught on quickly.

Miami followed it with Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh, eventually surrounding them with savvy veterans. Then the Warriors blew the doors off in 2016, signing Kevin Durant after a rare salary cap spike and creating a four-star monster. Since then, similar blueprints popped up everywhere—even if the results didn’t always match the hype. Fast forward to 2023–24, and we saw what happens when the formula doesn’t click.

The Phoenix Suns went all-in with Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker. On paper, it looked like a title contender. On the court? Left with not even a play-in option in hand. They tried the 2008 Celtics approach—but couldn’t recreate the magic. That’s what makes the 2024 Celtics so compelling. In an era where “super” means more than just big names, Boston delivered historically. Their +11.7 net rating in the regular season ranks third in NBA history.

The offense wasn’t just No. 1 in the league. The 122.2 points per 100 possessions the Celtics scored in the regular season was the highest mark in NBA history. And with fewer than 20 total losses, they’re in elite company—only eight other teams in 40 years have done the same en route to the Finals.

But this isn’t just about numbers. It’s about how this team was built—smart, bold, and balanced. In today’s NBA, the 2024 Boston Celtics weren’t just a super team, they may be the standard for what a super team should be. But Charles Barkley is all for an NBA superstar sticking with the team he is on and trying to win the championships rather than joining other superstars to gain an unfair advantage over others. And according to him, that’s exactly what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Tyrese Haliburton could be doing this season.