‘Inside The NBA,’ As We Know It, Is Over: Here’s Why It Is Irreplaceable

TNT’s Inside The NBA basketball panel show began during the 1989 season. Going into their 35th season, it’s now their last on TNT. In basketball speak, the “business” is what got in the way this time, as Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t match Amazon’s offer for the NBA license going forward. So Inside The NBA, as we know it, will wrap this season, and what a hell of a ride it has been.

With Ernie Johnson at the helm, the guys on Inside’s secret ingredient is their chemistry with one another. Hall of Famer Charles Barkley joined the ensemble back in 2000. And in 2011, things went up another level with the addition of four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal . The show maintains legitimacy with two-time NBA champion Kenny Smith providing more typical basketball analysis. All three former players bring a charm to the show that many others try to replicate on other networks. In truth, there’s nothing like it.

Part of the beauty of Inside The NBA is that you saw that TNT invested in the show. Aside from the over-the-top segments, the biggest investment they made, was time. When we watch post-show basketball shows on other networks, they don’t even last a quarter of how much Inside does. You can find yourself still watching TNT 90 minutes after a game finished because of this show. The greatest compliment to that is you wouldn’t have felt your time was wasted in the slightest. It’s a testament to the television talent all four men possess.

Now although the end of this show definitively marks its end on TNT, its stars haven’t definitively stated whether or not they’ll seek to get back together elsewhere. Barkley, always vocal, voices his frustrations with the contract negotiations between the league and WBD. So much so that he vowed to retire at the end of the season, and never appear regularly on another network. But he has since walked that back and seems amiable to the right deal.

I am in no shape or form, ready to say goodbye to this gem of a show. There’s no true successor of talent that’s ready to bring to the table what these guys do. From Shaq’s wisecracks to Chuck about his lack of titles. To Kenny getting beat to the board by Chuck and others, it’s just special. It’s a testament to what can come of a project where everyone doesn’t take themselves too seriously. And to think that they get some really good basketball analysis in there as well.

If TNT is smart, they’ll market this final season of Inside on its network as a spin on The Last Dance . Without a doubt, this NBA season will be filled with tons of surprises that’ll help make this year feel special. The folks at Warner Bros. Discovery will be sure to see just how much the show meant to the network. As for what’s next? I pray that this same crew ends up wherever is willing to pay. If the commitment to entertainment remains with the same production staff, they can make new magic. And I think that’s something everyone can get behind.