We’ve laughed together. Quite a bit. We’ve also cried, argued, grieved, taken a tumble, taken a stand, changed diapers, made “awful” Christmas cookies and, of course, talked a lot of basketball with Ernie, Kenny, Chuck and Shaq over the years on TNT’s “ Inside the NBA .
” At least it felt as if we were active participants. It will be a shame if next season will be the last time we’ll be able to do it all with that group, although that outcome seems inevitable after the NBA snubbed TNT in its latest media rights deal , and Charles Barkley’s recent announcement that he will retire from TV after one more year on the show. Hollywood Inc.
Disney’s ABC and ESPN hold onto their packages, while Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT is expected to lose the property that helped define the network. July 10, 2024 ” Inside the NBA ” started in 1989, the same year TNT began broadcasting NBA games.
Ernie Johnson became the show’s first permanent host the following year and has held the role ever since. Kenny Smith joined him as an analyst in 1998 and Barkley did the same in 2000. The show really hit its stride when Shaquille O’Neal came aboard as the third analyst starting with the 2011-12 season.
Here’s a look back at some of the show’s most memorable moments. Tensions might have been high at Staples Center on Jan. 16, 2018, the night Chris Paul played the Clippers for the first time since his trade to the Houston Rockets , but the atmosphere was downright jovial in.