Is Inside the NBA Dead? What We Know & What’s Next for 2024-25 Season

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It’s a hectic time to be an NBA fan. Not only are we in the middle of this year’s conference finals, but there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding one of the sport’s most popular shows, “Inside the NBA.”

The future of the iconic show — hosted by Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith — is up in the air as the NBA is in the middle of the next media rights deal. All signs point to ABC, NBC, and Amazon coming out on top of the next deal, which would leave TNT (which airs “Inside the NBA”) without basketball for the first time in over three decades.

It’s sadly official, @NBAonTNT will be entering its final year next #NBA season — what will happen to “Inside the NBA” and its award-winning team?#NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/OdKlP5FPkR

— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) May 22, 2024

Unsurprisingly, many basketball enthusiasts wonder what the upcoming media rights deal means for “Inside the NBA.” Is it officially dead in the water? Or is there a possibility that the television mainstay could return to another channel?

Let’s take a look at what we know about the current “Inside the NBA” situation and what could happen next.

Inside the NBA: Upcoming Media Rights Deal

As mentioned before, the upcoming league media rights deal is the reason why the NBA would cease airing on TNT for the first time in a long time. According to Bloomberg News‘ Lucas Shaw, the new deal will likely be worth around $7 billion, and the contracts for “Disney and Amazon are worth $2.6B and $1.8B a year, respectively,” while Comcast’s deal would be in the neighborhood of $2.5B.

Assuming the deal goes through, “Inside the NBA” would be left without a home. The show first debuted during the 1989-90 NBA season with a group of rotating hosts, but that quickly changed when Ernie Johnson became a permanent fixture in the following year. Kenny “The Jet” Smith joined him in 1998 before legends Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal joined the panel in 2000 and 2011, respectively.

And, as they say, the rest has been history.

It’s difficult to imagine basketball without “Inside the NBA.”

The iconic quartet has provided NBA fans with countless memories over the years, whether that’s the infamous races to the board or Shaq’s hilarious “Say it again, Chuck” moment. It’s almost as if watching the show is like getting together with four of your good friends and just shooting the breeze. Other panels have tried to replicate the vibe that Ernie & Co. without any avail.

Unfortunately, Warner Bros. Discovery — who owns TNT — seems perfectly content with letting go of the NBA. Back in 2022, WBD president and CEO David Zaslav said that the company didn’t “have to have the NBA,” which potentially angered important individuals around the league.

While many brushed off Zaslav’s comments two years ago, it looks like they might come back to bite him based on the rumored deal. If TNT does indeed lose its basketball rights, “Inside the NBA” fans know who to blame.

Having said that, the alleged deal has yet to be finalized, so anything can (theoretically) happen until an official announcement is made.

Is Inside the NBA Officially Dead?

While the future of “Inside the NBA” on TNT isn’t promising, the ride isn’t over just yet. For starters, WBD still owns the rights for the 2024-25 NBA season, meaning we’ll have at least one more campaign of Ernie, Kenny, Chuck, and Shaq creating nationally broadcasted chaos.

Even if the next season is the quartet’s final run, it’s nice to know that fans and the hosts will have the opportunity to say goodbye rather than things ending abruptly.

Secondly, there’s always the possibility that another network picks up the show. While Johnson has previously said he won’t work for any other network besides TNT, that could change based on Thursday’s news.

Barkley appeared on the latest episode of the “Dan Patrick Show” to discuss the current situation and what it means for “Inside the NBA.”

Charles Barkley says morale sucks amid the uncertainty of "Inside the NBA" moving forward. And discusses the possibility of hiring the crew to his production company, continuing to do the show, and selling it. pic.twitter.com/gLoiKm7SM3

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 23, 2024

Barkley didn’t hold back in his appearance, exclaiming his frustration towards the TNT executives who “screwed this thing up.” The 61-year-old went on to discuss how concerned he is for the cast and crew who could lose their jobs and that “Morale sucks, plain and simple.” He added that the network opting to purchase more NCAA football games only added salt to the wound.

“I don’t feel good, I’m not gonna lie. Especially when they came out and said we bought college football. I was like, ‘Well damn, they could’ve used that money to buy the NBA [rights.]'”

Interestingly enough, Barkley floated around the idea of potentially hiring the group to his own production company and then selling the show to any interested networks. Considering the bond that the group shares, signing a contract with Barkley might be the only scenario where Johnson is fine with leaving Turner.

In closing…

As unfortunate as the current situation is, “Inside the NBA” isn’t dead yet, so let’s hold off on any funerals. There are still pathways to keeping the legendary piece of sports television alive and the show’s fanbase won’t let it die without a fight.

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