“I Got a Problem”: Charles Barkley Reveals How a Favor for Former TNT Executive Michael Jackson Led to Crucial Decision 25 Years Ago

Charles Barkley is known today as one of the most famed and funny NBA analysts on TNT. But what if we told you he never planned to be a part of his panel with Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith? Barkley recently revealed how he only visited TNT as a favor to his friend Michael Jackson. And no, not that Michael Jackson.

Many may not know that Barkley was planning on joining NBC as an NBA analyst before TNT. In fact, he had the job all but wrapped up because of his good friend Dick Ebersol. But former NBA player and also good friend Michael Jackson convinced Barkley to go in for an interview with TNT last minute. Originally, he did it as a favor. Little did Barkley know what would become of it.

The interview went exactly how the Hall of Famer wanted it to, and he quickly realized that he didn’t want his NBC job anymore. Barkley then gave his agent a call to discuss a potential last-minute job switch. 

“We went drinking and smoking cigars afterwards, I remember I called my agent about 2:30 in the morning,” Barkley recalled. “I said, hey man, I got a problem… I think I want to go to TNT.”

But it was a big decision that Barkley had to make. So, he decided to sleep on it with some support from his agent. The only issue was that Barkley couldn’t sleep. He was too giddy thinking about his potential at TNT.

“I said, let me sleep on it. But then I couldn’t sleep, so I called him back at about 5,” Barkley shared. “I said, hey, I’m going to go to TNT.”

There was no beating around the bush for Barkley. He knew which job he wanted, and it wasn’t with NBC. The only issue was that there was one final loose end that had to be tied off: Ebersol.

Barkley knew he couldn’t just leave the man who had gotten him his first job in TV hanging. So, he gave him a personal call to inform him of his decision. He expected his friend to be furious with him, but Ebersol was surprisingly okay with the decision.

He even gave Barkley some words of encouragement. “He said, ‘You’re going to be great on television, and those guys at TNT are awesome.’ That’s all he said,” Barkley recounted. 

Ebersol and Barkley have remained in touch till today, and the two have seen a ton of success in their TV careers. It’s crazy to think that a favor that Charles gave to his friend was the reason why he joined TNT. 25 years later, the NBA on TNT has become one of the most popular sports shows ever made.

But sadly, the future of the show is now up in the air. ESPN and ABC have now acquired the rights to the show, and it has not been determined how it will be covered in the future. But we’re still holding out the hopes that Shaq, Ernie, Charles, and Kenny can stay together and find a new wave with the new channel.