Basketball fans are in mourning as the beloved TNT show, Inside The NBA, is nearing the end of its glorious run. The quartet of Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson are expected to split up when the NBA leaves the network for good at the end of the 2024-25 season for greener pastures. Not only fans, but analysts and former players aren’t pleased with the show going off the air.
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Hall of Famer, Kevin Garnett, is among the millions campaigning to keep the band together. He shared Stephen A. Smith’s passionate plea on Instagram and captioned,
“Say it again dammit!“
KG echoes SAS's sentiment pic.twitter.com/ejDOu7lSmS
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) May 30, 2024
In the clip, Smith earnestly asked networks to sign O’Neal, Smith, and Barkley once they leave TNT in 2025. He said,
“I don’t know everything in life, but I know television. And I know that I don’t give a damn what network you are. If you have an opportunity to have Charles Barkley Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith together, you do not break that up.”
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Smith added that the NBA experience wouldn’t be the same without the ‘Inside’ crew and it’s in the network’s best interests to sign them. He kept referring to the crew as “all three” because he believed Ernie Johnson would soon retire anyway. Garnett and Smith are among the millions hoping they continue to be an integral part of the NBA’s TV coverage, but it’s unlikely they’ll work together beyond next season.
The end of Inside The NBA is nearing
The NBA is finalizing a deal with NBC, Disney, and Amazon to take over as the league’s broadcasters and online streaming partners in 2025. Per Bloomberg, the new TV deal is set to bring in $76 billion in revenue over the next 11 years.
The jaw-dropping offer was too steep for TNT, who couldn’t crack a deal with the NBA and will end its 36-year association with the league at the start of the 2025-26 campaign.
In an ideal world, one of the three companies would’ve signed the quartet and ensured they remained an integral part of the league’s broadcast. However, in an interview on the Dan Patrick Show, Barkley confirmed that Ernie Johnson, who has been with TNT since 1989, won’t leave the network and the crew cannot function without him because he’s the “most important person”.
The quartet has a ‘ride together, die together’ policy. With Johnson set to stay at TNT, it’s unlike that O’Neal, Barkley, and Smith would team up elsewhere without their long-time co-host. As things stand, fans should savor every moment of the show, over the next 12 months, as the incredible ride is about to end.
