Tag: Inside the NBA

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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Charles Barkley played his first hilarious game of ‘Who he play for?’ this season and it went exactly how you think

Charles Barkley still doesn’t know who anybody plays for and it’s terrible but it’s also so funny

Every time theĀ Inside the NBA crew chooses to put Charles Barkley through the ringer in a game of “Who he play for?” I get so conflicted.

For those of you who don’t know, this is the game where Barkley has to guess where some of the role players across the NBA are playing ball now.

On one hand, man, I feel like Barkley should know exactly who these dudes play for. He is one of the most notable basketball analysts on television. Isn’t it part of his job to know who these people are and what teams they play for?

On the other hand? Yo. This is some fantastic television.

RELATED:Ā Ernie Johnson hilariously calls Charles Barkley a scrub for his place on the all-time scoring list

Every time Barkley plays this game it’s just embarrassingly bad. He played it again on Thursday night to open the season and, yes, it went exactly how you’re probably thinking it went.

Turribly, as Chuck would say.

The man went 1-for-5, y’all. That’s bad. Really bad. But the laughs! The laughs were so good.

This had NBA fans cracking up.

Ernie Johnson joked Charles Barkley was a ‘scrub’ for his placement among NBA’s scoring leaders

Ernie Johnson ROASTED his co-host, Charles Barkley.

While discussing Kevin Durant passing Hakeem Olajuwon in scoring, former NBA MVP Charles Barkley caught a friendly jab from Ernie Johnson.

During a segment onĀ Inside the NBAĀ on Thursday night, the NBA on TNT hosts saw a graphic that suggested Barkley ranked No. 34 overall among all scorers in NBA history.

Johnson, who told For The Win he feels like he is “brothers” with his co-hosts, gave Barkley a ribbing for his placement on these all-time rankings.

RELATED: Ernie Johnson on life behind the scenes as the host of Inside the NBA

Johnson joked with Barkley, calling him a “scrub” for ranking No. 34 on the all-time scoring list.

He then clarified that the former NBA big man was actually No. 29 on the list, which puts him ahead of legends including Larry Bird as well as Dwyane Wade, Clyde Drexler and David Robinson.

RELATED: Kenny Smith on why Russell Westbrook is underrated and running sand dunes like Steph Curry

Barkley then said that if Johnson thought he was low, they should look into where their co-host Kenny “The Jet” Smith ranked. Smith is currently at No. 429 in total scoring. (He does, however, rank No. 119 in assists).

Shaquille O’Neal, who currently ranks No. 8 on the NBA’s all-time list, then made fun of Barkely for not ranking among the top 20 scoring leaders. It was all good, competitive fun!

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Shaquille O’Neal told Nikola Jokic ‘I love you’ in Serbian in adorable Inside the NBA exchange

Shaq is back on your television, and now, he knows how to say something in Serbian to Nikola Jokic.

 

With the 2023-24 NBA season officially getting underway on Tuesday night, basketball legend and analyst Shaquille O’Neal decided to break out a little Serbian while talking to Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic.

During a game break for the Nuggets/Los Angeles Lakers opening-night contest, O’Neal told Jokic “Volim te!” That means “I love you!” in Serbian, which is Jokic’s native language.

Jokic seemed genuinely touched with Shaq’s telling him that message in Serbian, and he replied with the same response, just in English.

It’s just so nice to have Inside the NBA back, as we’re ready for yet another season of shenanigans from O’Neal and the crew.

That’s pretty cool. Hey, if you’re O’Neal, maybe you’ll expand your understanding of the Serbian language to greet Jokic with a new phrase or two the next time you talk.

If we start seeing Shaq pop up in Duolingo commercials, we’ll know which language he’s been studying up on for his broadcast work.

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Inside the NBA: Here’s who’s on TNT’s pregame show in 2023-24

Here’s the lineup for Inside the NBA for 2023-24.

It’s for sure the best pregame show there is on television, and has been a show others outside of sports have called out as one of the best shows of any kind, period.

It’sĀ Inside the NBA, TNT’s hoops pregame show that continues to be endlessly entertaining, innovative and headline-grabbing.

And if you’re here, you may not be a fan or at least someone who casually watches. If so, and you’re wondering who these hilarious personalities are, you’ve come to the right place.

We’re here to tell you who each of them are, and the lineup includes two Hall of Famers and a two-time NBA champion, plus a multiple-Sports Emmy Award winner as a host.

Let’s dive in: