Inside the NBA fans are probably aware of the big news Charles Barkley shared weeks ago. The basketball player-turned-broadcaster announced that he’d retire from Inside at the conclusion of the 2026-2027 TV season. While I was initially skeptical about the comments, further sentiments shared by Barkley have me convinced he’s going to do it this time. Needless to say, I’m a bit bummed over the prospect of him not being on the show much longer but, at the very least, ESPN just announced a great change for the show this year.
Last fall, months after the historic deal brokered between ESPN and TNT, Inside the NBA moved to the latter network. There was considerable excitement about the long-running talk show continuing after it nearly faced cancellation due to TNT losing the broadcast rights to the eponymous sports league. However, much of that joy turned to disappointment after the show’s official schedule was released and marked a more splintered airing pattern for the series that included shorter timeslots.
Inside aired weekly on TNT, so many were taken aback by the hiatuses it had during its first year on Disney’s flagship sports network. Thankfully, that’s changed for the better, as the official 2026-2027 schedule for the basketball-centric series includes more broadcasts. The news was shared to Instagram, and fans can see the post below to check out the broadcast calendar, which encompasses the NBA’s regular season:
After last season, this lineup is manna from basketball heaven, to say the least. I don’t know about anyone else, but I found it difficult to keep up with Inside throughout last year since it aired somewhat inconsistently. To ESPN’s credit, though, network president Burke Magnus promised a more robust schedule this time around. It now goes without saying that Magnus and co. have certainly delivered on that promise.
From what I can see, the largest gap in this particular schedule is between the March 13 and April 11 broadcasts, which come at the tail end of the season. That’s honestly not bad, considering the rest of the broadcasts are relatively close in proximity. As great as this news is, though, it’s also a bit bittersweet due to what’s been discussed as of late.
Barkley revealed to Bill Simmons in early September that this upcoming season would be his last with Inside the NBA. This announcement came just a few years after Sir Charles announced that he’d retire at the end of the ‘24-’25 season. However, he walked back that decision in order to help save jobs at TNT Sports and, as Barkley recently revealed, his long-time co-host, Ernie Johnson, enticed him to stay longer. On that note, Barkley also claimed Johnson would retire as well but, as of this writing, Johnson has reportedly not made a decision on that front.
It’s honestly wild to think about Inside without Barkley and Johnson, who’ve been working together since the former joined the show in 2000. On the off chance that both do hang up their mics next year, I can’t help but wonder who ESPN might hire to join Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal in their places. Still, that’s seemingly a ways off at this point and, right now, I’m just choosing to soak in the joy of this expanded schedule.
Check out Inside the NBA when it returns to ESPN on Wednesday, October 21 as part of the 2026 TV schedule.
