May 31, 2025—save that date, because it officially marked the end of an era. Inside the NBA aired its final episode on TNT, closing a 35-year chapter that changed sports television forever. The crew—Ernie, Chuck, Kenny, and Shaq—said goodbye to the network that made them a cultural staple. All thanks to the NBA’s jaw-dropping $76 billion media deal that kicks in next season, shifting rights to ESPN, NBC, and Amazon. TNT? Left on the sidelines.
The lights dimmed on Inside the NBA’s final night on TNT, and yeah, it was emotional. For fans, the crew, guests, and, of course, the hosts. Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Stan Van Gundy, and Allie LaForce had the call for what became TNT’s last NBA broadcast: Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals between Indiana and New York. But here’s the twist—this wasn’t goodbye forever.
Thanks to a surprise deal, TNT will keep producing the show, while ESPN takes over airing it next season. And as tributes rolled in for legends like Craig Sager, Marv Albert, and Cheryl Miller, it hit everyone: this wasn’t the end of an era. It was a passing of the torch. In a behind-the-scenes video shared by Matt Taylor, Ernie Johnson addressed the Inside the NBA crew with a heartfelt message before wrapping their final TNT episode.
“One more thing real quick before everybody bounces… there’s been a lot of questions, a lot of wondering by everybody in the building about what was going on, where this show was going to go,” he began. Reflecting on the uncertainty, he added, “It’s going to be different because it’s here and it’s showing somewhere else—but it’s here, and you all deserve that.” Ernie acknowledged the anxiety many had felt, saying, “We’ve been through a bunch of nights… let’s enjoy this. All right? They can’t get rid of us. Have a great night.”
A classic Ernie Johnson sign-off—warm, reassuring, and real. That energy carried right into the closing moments. Johnson ended things simply and powerfully: “I’m proud to say for the last time, ‘Thanks for watching us. It’s the NBA on TNT.’” Then, in a move that said more than any words could, he turned his back to the camera, placed his mic on the desk, and walked away from the set as the rest of them picked it, for one last time.
Shaquille O’Neal added his own fire: “Even though the name changes, the engine is still the same. And to that new network we’re coming to, we’re not coming to (expletive) around… We’re taking over, OK? I love you guys and I appreciate you guys.” Kenny Smith called it like he saw it, saying, “This has just been a magnificent ride.” And for Charles Barkley, the goodbye hit deep.
In an interview with On3, he opened up about what he’ll miss most: “I just think the people… You got to understand something, how many of these people I met, they bought their newborns in, then they bought them in on prom night and they came in when they graduated college.” That kind of connection doesn’t happen overnight. “When you work with somebody for 24 years, they’re part of your family.” No lies, and his frustration with the move is justified.
Charles Barkley slams the ESPN shift
Charles Barkley is not holding back—at all—when it comes to how he feels about the shift of Inside the NBA from its longtime home on TNT to ESPN. Chuck’s been visibly frustrated for months, and now we know just how deep that disappointment runs. “I learned from people at ESPN that we had been traded to ESPN,” Barkley told Sports Illustrated, slamming TNT for not even having “the common courtesy” to inform the crew directly.
“How unprofessional is that?” While Inside the NBA will live on at ESPN, still produced from Studio J in Atlanta, for Chuck, it’s not just a change of channel—it’s a disruption to something sacred. And despite signing a fresh 7-year contract, Barkley is already hinting he’s got “two years left in the tank.” On The Dan Patrick Show, he said, “I’m gonna be a good soldier for Kenny, Ernie, and Shaq, but the best I can do is two years.” That’s not just retirement talk—it’s weariness from what he suspects ESPN might do to the show.
Bill Simmons added fuel to the fire, saying on his podcast, “I think ESPN’s going to f— the show-up,” warning that the network’s ad-heavy format might kill the very soul of Inside the NBA. Chuck’s not thrilled about the potential for overexposure either, famously mocking ESPN’s multi-platform demands by saying they’d have him “speaking Spanish” and making appearances on every channel under the sun. “Muy bien, gracias!” he joked back in 2016.
Butt behind the humor, there’s serious concern about being worked to the bone—“like a dog”—by a corporation that doesn’t understand the rhythm and authenticity that made the TNT version click. And if you thought that was the end of the drama—buckle up. Turns out TNT is trying to cook up a separate show for the same crew to air on its network, even though Inside the NBA is now ESPN property. And Chuck is not impressed.
“We taped a pilot about a month ago and it was the stupidest s— I’ve ever seen in my life,” he told Patrick, repeating the word “stupid” several times. Barkley explained that the show had no game highlights, and worse, it might even air at the same time as actual NBA games on other networks. “Anybody who likes basketball ain’t gonna say, ‘Hey, let me turn off an NBA game on Amazon, ESPN or NBC to go watch these four dudes sit around and talk about nothing.’” Barkley is furious, and for reasons justified.
So yeah—between the awkward ESPN crossover, TNT’s “stupid” side project, and Barkley’s growing disinterest in staying on the corporate treadmill, this media shake-up might just send Chuck packing sooner than anyone expected. But for everyone’s sake, the Show must go on.
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