Golden State Warriors

Charles Barkley doubles down by predicting the Warriors won't repeat

Published Mar. 8, 2016 11:53 a.m. ET

foxsports

Charles Barkley cast endless doubt upon the Golden State Warriors before they won last year's championship. Week after week, he'd go on TNT's "Inside the NBA," and say that any team so reliant on jumpers could never win the title.

Excluding the fact that the 2011 Dallas Mavericks won it all, um, relying on jump shots, Barkley's proclamation felt antiquated in real time, even before he was officially proven wrong when Steph Curry, Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green took down LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in six games.

One year later, the 56-6 Warriors are even better, but Barkley hasn't come close to learning his lesson. Appearing on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," the Hall of Famer had this to say:

"I was very wrong. They have a terrific team and they've been great for the NBA...I'm telling you right now, they're not going to win the NBA Championship this year."

Catch the full interview right here, then watch Barkley talk about his golf swing:

So, is it ridiculous to take the field over Golden State? Not necessarily.

The San Antonio Spurs are 53-10 and lead the NBA in defensive rating and net rating. They have the third-best offense, too. The Oklahoma City Thunder aren't playing great basketball of late but still have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in their primes.

The Cleveland Cavaliers look lost but have LeBron James and enough positional versatility (assuming they play Kevin Love only 20 minutes per game) to make things interesting if everybody stays healthy.

The Warriors are true greatness, but that doesn't mean they're a lock to win it all. It also doesn't mean Barkley should go on national television and say they'll lose.