This past week, Inside the NBA fans received some surprising and disappointing news. Longtime series co-host Charles Barkley announced that the upcoming season would be his last on the show and, if that wasn’t sad enough, he also revealed that Ernie Johnson planned to leave as well. Johnson and Barkley’s departures will mark the end of a major era when it comes to sports-centric television. And what has me even deeper in my feelings about this is that the news comes on the heels of some sweet comments made by Shaq.
Shaq Shares A Great Take On What Makes Inside The NBA Work
For nearly 15 years now, Johnson and Barkley have shared a table with Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, at which they’ve discussed the biggest developments in the NBA. The show may not include much analysis, but it does offer up some solid insights and hilarious moments from Shaq and Barkley. The “Diesel” recently discussed the show, specifically its historic move from TNT to ESPN. While sharing his feeling, the multihyphenate weighed in on why the show gels and how he’s feeling going into the upcoming season:
Whenever you take a program people have watched for years and put it in a new environment, there's going to be an adjustment period. People are always going to compare everything; it just comes with the territory. For us, the job hasn’t changed. Ernie, Kenny, Chuck and I are there to talk basketball, be honest, have fun and deliver the chemistry our viewers enjoy because that’s when the show works best.
I couldn’t agree more with the comments that the four-time NBA champion shared with ClutchPoints, especially the point about the collaboration between the four hosts. Earlier this year, O’Neal shared more thoughts on what makes Inside successful and, at that point, he broke down the varied attributes that each host brings to the proceedings. Considering these thoughts, it’s bittersweet to think that just weeks later, it looks like the band is set to be broken up, per the sentiments shared by Barkley.
Charles Barkley Got Real About His Intention To Retire
The former Phoenix Sun shared his retirement comments during a recent appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast. Ironically, Barkley began speaking on the topic after Simmons joked that ahead of this season, Barkley hadn’t made any retirement declarations. The Inside alum then laid out the various times he’s told his employers of his desire to step away from the job. Barkley eventually said that Johnson asked him to stay on two additional years before last season in order to save jobs. The Emmy winner continued:
I said, ‘Ernie, I’ll stay for two more years.’ But he says, ‘Chuck, I’m planning on retiring in two years.’ So me and Ernie are a package deal. So, to answer your question, Ernie said to me, ‘Chuck, would you please stay for two more years?’ I said, ‘You know what, Ernie? I love you, man. You’re the best.’ I said, ‘I’ll stay for two more years.’ So, right now, unless Ernie changes his mind, next year is my last year, 100%.
Fans may be aware that this isn’t the first time the “Round Mound of Rebound” has spoken about walking away from his broadcasting career. It was in the summer of 2024 that Barkley announced he was retiring after the 2024-2025 NBA season. That announcement came in the midst of the Inside cancellation situation, which stemmed from TNT’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, losing the broadcast rights to the league. Before the ESPN deal was announced, though, Barkley confirmed he’d remain with TNT Sports to see his ten-year contract through.
Charles Barkley seems to be standing firm in his retirement position this time around and, as tough as it is to fathom, I do understand his feelings. Even over the past several years, Barkley’s been adamant about not feeling the need to be on TV all the time. Still, the former athlete has affection for his colleagues, as he also said during the interview that he had “love” for the people he’d worked with for “26, 27 years.”
If Barkley and Ernie Johnson do end up signing off for the final time at the end of this coming season, I’ll remain grateful for their contributions to sports and TV. More immediately, though, I look forward to seeing the winning dynamic described by Shaq for one more year. Check out Inside the NBA when it returns to ESPN this fall amid the 2026 TV schedule.
