Barkley says NBA decision forthcoming: 'I'm 100% sure we're going to play'

Former basketball star and longtime studio analyst Charles Barkley is convinced the NBA is nearing an official decision to resume the 2019-20 season in some form.

"(The NBA is) gonna make a decision in the next week," Barkley said on ESPN's "The Paul Finebaum Show" on Monday. "I'm 100% sure we're going to play. I know my friends in Major League Baseball are going to play. I know that the hockey league is going to play. I think the pro football and the college football, they have to sit back and see how it goes for us."

Barkley attributed his insight to conversations with executives at Turner, where the 57-year-old has been a panelist on the flagship studio program "NBA on TNT" since his Hall of Fame playing career ended in 2000.

"I do know this, talking to my bosses at Turner: We're going to play basketball," Barkley said. "It's gonna be in Florida and (Las) Vegas, or just Florida."

The NBA confirmed Saturday that the league has discussed restarting the season in a campus-style environment at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Orlando. The 2019-20 season has been on hiatus since March 11 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The league scheduled a conference call with its board of governors for Friday, and teams expect to be asked to instruct players to report to their home markets around June 1, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski last week.