Charles Barkley Drops Retirement Plans After Final ‘Inside the NBA’ TNT Episode originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
“Inside the NBA” has been a staple for basketball fans for the past 36 years, and on Saturday night, TNT aired its final episode. Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, and the rest of the crew aren’t going away, though, with the show moving to ESPN starting next season.
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It was a bittersweet moment for everyone at TNT. But despite the move, the crew will continue working with TNT and ESPN simultaneously.
Barkley was a guest on the “Dan Patrick Show,” and said, “If they’re being honest, we’re gonna probably work on ESPN one-third or half the time.”
Barkley has been outspoken about his concerns with the move because of his schedule. He has made it clear he doesn’t want to take on more work as he is set to move between the two networks.
“If they start trying to work me too much between ESPN and TNT, I’m just gonna walk on home,” Barkley added.
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Barkley went on to discuss his retirement plans, saying he has seven years left on his TNT deal, but he’s only got two more years in him.
“I actually have seven years left on my contract,” Barkley stated. “I’m like, yeah, there’s no way I’m working seven years. I said, I’m gonna be a good soldier for Kenny, Ernie, and Shaq, and the people I work with. Because I love the people I work with, especially behind the scenes.
“I said, but the best I can do is two years. And them other five years, they got no chance of happening. So I said, you know what, I’ll give y’all two years. They’re like, can we get three? I said, I just told you, I ain’t gonna give you two.”
11-time NBA All-Star and “Inside the NBA” host Charles Barkley.Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
The 16-year NBA legend also spoke about what he’s going to be doing at TNT now that the show is moving to ESPN. He said he and the rest of his crew filmed a “pilot” a month ago for TNT and called it the “stupidest (expletive) I’ve ever seen.”
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“TNT is trying to do something stupid behind the scenes,” Barkley added. “We taped a pilot about a month ago. And it was the stupidest (expletive) I’ve ever seen in my life…
Barkley said TNT wants to have a show with no “basketball highlights.”
“Number one, we won’t have basketball highlights,” Barkley said. “But also, we’re probably going to be going up against the NBA game. And anybody who likes basketball ain’t going to say, hey, you know what, let me turn off an NBA game that’s on Amazon, ESPN, or NBC to go watch these four dudes sit around and talk about nothing.”
Related: Charles Barkley Didn’t Hesitate When Naming the Face of the NBA
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.