Charles Barkley was already someone who spoke without much of a filter any time you caught him on television. But an indignant Barkley, who is clearly frustrated by the likely end of Inside the NBA, is a dramatic step up in a person who will speak their mind.
During Thursday’s episode of The Dan Patrick Show, Barkley discussed a lot of the recent fervor concerning the NBA’s TV negotiations with TNT, NBC, and Amazon. As the days have passed, it seems likely that TNT will lose its NBA broadcasting rights after the 2024-2025 season, which, in turn, will officially end Inside the NBA.
This does not sit well with Barkley, who lit into his TNT bosses for likely ruining a good thing while expressing dismay for all the people who work behind the scenes on the show:
Charles Barkley says morale sucks amid the uncertainty of "Inside the NBA" moving forward. And discusses the possibility of hiring the crew to his production company, continuing to do the show, and selling it. pic.twitter.com/gLoiKm7SM3
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 23, 2024
That’s the key problem here. Guys like Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson will probably be OK. It’s the crew in the background that makes Inside the NBA sing that isn’t guaranteed anything in their careers moving forward.
Good on Barkley for acknowledging that fact.
Barkley noted that he’s talked about continuing the show in other avenues. Namely, he does have a production company that could potentially transfer over Inside the NBA. However, it’s worth noting that Ernie Johnson would likely not be a part of the show, as he’s expected to continue working with Turner Sports in other capacities.
All in all, what an honest and gut-wrenching interview by Barkley.