Tag: Inside the NBA

Inside the NBA reacts to Victor Wembanyama vs. Chet Holmgren duel

Inside the NBA reacted to the duel between San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama and Oklahoma City THunder star Chet Holmgren.

As the San Antonio Spurs’ season rolls on, any win they can get their hands on is a big one. And their recent victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder was a perfect example of this. They took down one of the best teams in the league at home after a long road trip, and Victor Wembanyama hyped up the crowd after the victory.

But the best part of the night was the duel between Wembanyama and fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Chet Holmgren. The two big men battled it out, and Wembanyama not only walked away with the win, but he even blocked one of Holmgren’s jump shots.

The Inside the NBA crew recently reacted to the matchup between the two rookies, giving their thoughts.

Only one person can take home the Rookie of the Year award, and both guys have solid cases, but Wembanyama’s win over Holmgren should certainly factor into the discussion.

 

Charles Barkley was criticized for his awful comments about San Francisco during the All-Star Game

This was so uncalled for by Charles Barkley.

During TNT’s broadcast of the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, Inside the NBA’s Charles Barkley was terrible during his brief appearance.

The longtime NBA analyst, who made 11 All-Star appearances during his professional career, was on the pre-game and post-game show for TNT. But during TNT’s telecast of the game, Barkley instead appeared on the TruTV “alt-cast” with Taylor Rooks and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.

TNT briefly had the “alt-cast” on the TNT feed, however, and Barkley quickly took an unnecessary and classless jab at San Francisco — the city that will host the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.

You can hear his comments for yourself but it was a bad look for TNT:

These comments were uncalled for and fans (and his fellow broadcasters) were not afraid to call him out for the rude and thoughtless remarks.

Here is a sampling of what some folks had to say:

The Inside the NBA crew pranked Charles Barkley by swapping out his Diet Coke for a mystery drink

Poor Charles Barkley.

The Inside the NBA crew can always be counted on for some delightful shenanigans, and Charles Barkley landed himself on the prank list on Thursday night.

During a show break, Barkley’s co-hosts swapped out his mug filled with Diet Coke for a mystery beverage and left him to find out the new drink in his mug as they got a good kick out of it.

The camera crew caught Barkley’s reaction to discovering that the beverage in his mug was most certainly not Diet Coke, which got a huge laugh out of everyone on set.

Poor Barkley; don’t mess with a man’s Diet Coke!

Barkley was obviously a good sport for being pranked, as he’s undoubtedly been behind some great pranks on his co-workers during his time on the show.

This is just the latest example of how Inside the NBA is one of the most unpredictably enjoyable shows in the sports space.

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The Grizzliesā€™ GG Jackson couldnā€™t believe he got to talk to Shaquille Oā€™Neal after breakout game

Surprise!

Memphis Grizzlies rookie forward/center GG Jackson broke out in a big way with 23 points against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

His dominant breakthrough game helped Memphis get a 116-107 home victory, and it also helped him meet one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

The Inside the NBA crew talked with Jackson after his huge night, which included the Grizzlies rookie geeking out once he realized he was talking to Shaquille O’Neal.

Jackson’s reaction is just so wonderful and genuine, as he realizes he’s being interviewed by one of the most recognizable people in the history of the sport.

The Grizzlies have had a nightmarish season with injuries and Ja Morant’s suspension (and subsequent injury), but Jackson’s breakthrough is a silver lining for the future of the franchise.

This interview also should put a smile on all Grizzlies fans faces in the midst of a tough stretch of basketball.

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Inside The NBA hosts trolled Charles Barkley’s plan to give up Diet Coke by raiding his stash

How long can Charles Barkley stick to his New Year’s Resolution?

Charles Barkley had a simple answer when he was asked about his New Year’s Resolution. He said that he planned to give up Diet Coke.

Barkley has a long history of drinking the beverage, including before NBA games during his professional playing career. The former MVP has said he would have two McDonald’s fish fillet sandwiches, a large order of fries and a Diet Coke as a pre-game meal.

Now when hosting Inside The NBA on TNT, Barkley will occasionally drink Diet Coke out of a mug while on the air. So to help him reach his resolution, Barkley received a hand from his co-workers.

The hosts of Inside the NBA had enough of Barkley, who complained that water (his Diet Coke substitute) doesn’t taste like anything.

Shaquille O’Neal made his way over to Barkley’s side of the desk and raided his Diet Coke supply. He found Barkley’s stash and began opening them up, drinking them and handing them to Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson.

Barkley wanted to know if his co-hosts at least felt his pain as they sipped on the soda and he then told the viewers to his their enemies close to them.

We will see how long Barkley can stick to this resolution of no Diet Coke!

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Shaquille O’Neal had the sweetest reaction to hearing his Magic jersey would be retired

This is so cool for Shaq and all Magic fans.

Shaquille O’Neal found out some exciting news on the latest edition of Inside the NBA, something that’s a long time coming for the basketball legend.

The broadcast crew surprised O’Neal with a video call from Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins, who shared that O’Neal will become the first former Magic player to have his jersey retired by the franchise.

O’Neal seemed genuinely touched by the news as he took a very humble approach to reacting to the career accomplishment.

As zany as Inside the NBA can get, moments like this remind you why it’s one of the best sports shows on television right now.

This is just such an awesome moment for O’Neal and Magic fans everywhere, as perhaps the best-ever player to take the court for the franchise will finally be enshrined in Orlando history.

The No. 32 will belong to O’Neal for the rest of time, and watching him react to the news was just so moving.

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The Inside the NBA crew had Stephen A. Smith play ‘Who he play for?’ and it went exactly how you’d expect

Stephen A. Smith is so bad at this game

ESPN and TNT had a melding of broadcasts on Thursday as part of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament coverage and, let me tell you, this is looking like the best idea ever.

It was obviously chaotic. Probably a bit more chaotic than you could’ve ever imagined, honestly.

Stephen A. Smith got completely roasted by Charles Barkley and the Inside the NBA crew. Barkley threatened to fight him, Shaq acted like he spilled something on him and they even went in on his hairline.

Where things really took a turn, though, was when they had Stephen A. play Charles Barkley’s infamous “Who he play for?” game. For those of you who don’t know, this is the game the crew plays with Charles Barkley all the time to embarrass him. He has no idea who any of the league’s role players play for. It’s pure comedy.

He and Stephen A. are on the same wave. Smith played the game and, well, let’s just say he didn’t do much better than Chuck.

To be fair to Stephen A. Smith, though, he got some tough players! Ish Smith? Garrett Temple? Those dudes have switched teams so much! Dante Exum wasn’t even in the league for a few years. That’s a tough slate.

That was a nice try by Stephen A., but it didn’t really work out.

What this does prove, though, is that we need more crossovers like this. Because, man, this was so fun. Please, y’all. Give us more.

Charles Barkley made NBA on TNT’s crossover coverage with ESPN as chaotic as you imagined

This was always going to be wild.

ESPN and TNT collaborated on coverage for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, which produced exactly as much chaos as you’d expect.

It was a huge meeting of the minds between ESPN’s NBA team and TNT’s beloved Inside the NBAĀ crew. That is a lot of strong personalities on one screen. But it was Charles Barkley who immediately took over control of the broadcast.

The former NBA big man complimented ESPN’s Malika Andrews and said that Mike Wilbon was his mentor and friend. He also added that he “loved” former Warriors executive Bob Myers. But then it got unhinged.

WARNING: The following clip contains language not safe for work.

But he had some sharp words for ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

Barkley warned Smith that if he came over being loud during the broadcast, it wouldn’t beĀ First Take. Instead, he said that it would be the first [expleitive] whooping that he takes.

Shaquille O’Neal then asked the question everyone watching was wondering: Are you not entertained?!

He then came over to torment ESPN’s Smith for a bit as well with a prank of his own.

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Charles Barkley guaranteed the Celtics would win the NBA title and so now they’re probably doomed

Barkley is confident in the Celtics, which isn’t a good thing.

During pregame coverage of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament on TNT, Charles Barkley made a bold prediction.

Before the Pacers hosted the Celtics on Monday night, the 11-time NBA All-Star promised viewers that Boston would win the championship this season. It was early for Barkley’s stamp of approval as he usually doesn’t make such assurances this early. It was also the worst possible news for fans of the Celtics.

Barkley isn’t someone who has had the best luck with his guarantees in the past. A few seasons ago, he went 10-of-25 (40.0 percent) on his guarantees made during broadcasts. Earlier this year, perĀ Sporting News, Barkley began 3-for-12 when he made a guarantee in May.

Some fans view Barkley’s guarantee as essentially the kiss of death.

Remember when the former NBA big man guaranteed that the USMNT would defeat the Netherlands in the 2022 World Cup? It didn’t go well.

It also didn’t go well when Barkley assured fans that the Kings would eliminate the Warriors. But for those who want to see the Celtics win a title, Barkley did correctly predict the Nuggets would take home a ring last season, so not all hope is lost.

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Charles Barkley pranked Kenny Smith by revealing his hotel room number on Inside the NBA

Oh no, Kenny Smith!

It’s genuinely impossible to predict whatever shenanigans that the Inside the NBA crew will get into whenever they’re all together.

On Tuesday night, Charles Barkley ramped his prankster spirit up a notch by revealing to all the viewers at home what hotel room fellow broadcaster Kenny Smith was staying in for that evening.

Smith had his hotel room key on the broadcasters’ table, and Barkley took full advantage of it being up for grabs while on air.

Ernie Johnson instantly reacted to his pal Barkley’s trolling with a very funny “Chuckster, you can’t be doing that!” Although, even he wondered why Smith had left his room key out.

While we’re guessing Smith promptly changed his room if he was still actually staying at that hotel, this is a very funny prank and one that embodies the spirit of what makes Inside the NBA so irresistible.

Even if Smith probably made a quick call to where he was lodging at the commercial break.

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