Charles Barkley And Inside The NBA Will Be Pissed At ESPN For Ruining Their Show, Says Bill Simmons

With Charles Barkley and Inside the NBA officially set to move to ESPN after TNT lost its broadcasting rights, a wave of uncertainty has taken over the basketball world. Fans, players, and insiders alike are bracing for what this transition could mean for one of the most iconic shows in sports television history.

And according to Bill Simmons, it might not be pretty. Charles Barkley has already made it clear that he’s very unhappy that TNT didn’t renew the NBA contract. He’s been vocal about the network’s failure to keep the legendary show intact, expressing frustration over how things were handled.

During an interview with Sports Illustrated, Chuck expressed his disappointment in the network’s unprofessionalism. He said, “I learned from people at ESPN that we had been traded to ESPN. TNT did not even have the common courtesy that we were going to work for ESPN. How unprofessional is that?”

What stung him even more was the fact that when TNT signed the deal with ESPN, without informing the Inside crew, they didn’t even include Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith in the contract. Add that to his long-standing issues with ESPN’s programming and narrative control, and the move becomes even more unsettling.

Now, Simmons has joined the conversation with a blunt warning. Simmons believes that the show will not only lose its charm on ESPN, but it can also potentially harm its reputation. He said, “I think ESPN’s gonna f**k the show up…Unless they completely change how they do commercials, the show is gonna be different, people are gonna be pissed and Barkley and those guys are gonna be pissed.”

He believes the show will only work if ESPN allows the four stars, Ernie Johnson, Kenny, Chuck, and Shaq, to do things the way they’ve always done them at TNT. That means unscripted moments, raw banter, inside jokes, chaos, and above all, freedom.

But ESPN is known for structure. With tight production, scripted narratives, and frequent commercial breaks, their style could seriously limit what made Inside the NBA so beloved in the first place.

Simmons isn’t the only one with this concern, though. Many fans and critics have echoed the same opinion that ESPN’s influence might sanitize the very soul of the show. And if that happens, it’s not just viewers who’ll be upset. Barkley and the crew, known for doing things their own way, could very well feel stifled in a corporate setup that doesn’t match the TNT vibe.

So, is Simmons right? It’s hard to argue against him. Unless ESPN loosens its grip and allows Inside the NBA to be what it’s always been, unpredictable, unfiltered, and unapologetically fun, the move might end up damaging one of basketball’s greatest shows.

Barkley, on the other hand, is stepping into the new world with mixed emotions about ESPN. The NBA legend doesn’t like how ESPN peddles narratives. He has openly called them out for trying to push Anthony Edwards as the face of the league. Whether he’ll fit in at ESPN or be up in arms with them, only time will tell.