Charles Barkley Doesn’t Sugarcoat His Opinion Of Lawsuit Vs. NBA

Charles Barkley didn't hold back his true thoughts about the lawsuit that Warner Bros. Discovery has filed against the NBA over its latest media rights deal.

For those who missed it, Warner Bros. Discovery--the parent company of TNT Sports---sued the NBA after it did not accept the matching offer the network gave for one of the packages in its upcoming 11-year media rights deal.

Warner Bros. Discovery said it matched the $1.8 billion offer that Amazon gave as part of the media rights deal with NBC and ESPN. However, the league rejected the offer and said that the "most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer."

That being said, the NBA signed a new media rights deal with NBC, ESPN and Amazon that is reportedly worth $78 billion over 11 years.

Warner Bros. Discovery, however, quickly took action and said it will pursue its legal rights based on the contract it previously signed. The media giant has the right to match offers that the NBA receives, and it believes it has done so while the league says otherwise.

When asked about the situation, however, Barkley admitted that it's unlikely NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is not aware of the contract rights of Warner Bros. Discovery.

"So I don't think Adam would leave himself open to lose a lawsuit. He was a lawyer and I think he's too smart. So your question is correct: we have filed a lawsuit, but I think the NBA is like, yes, too late, we don't care," Barkley shared during an appearance in the Podcast P With Paul George (presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment).

"You guys sued to get the Amazon package, but when we signed the original deal six, eight years ago, y'all had to match NBC or ESPN, which is like another 500 million a year and I think our people were like, we’re going to try to match the cheapest one and Adam's like, yeah, that s**t's not going to work. Y'all could match, but y'all had to match the bigger number."

Charles Barkley added that he's not "not even sure why" Warner Bros. Discovery sued, emphasizing that he doesn't think "Adam is dumb enough where he would open himself up to lose that lawsuit."

It's certainly a complicated situation, and it remains to be seen how Warner Bros. Discovery will fight back. For now, however, it looks like the league is set to push through with its new media partners come the 2025-26 season.

The bad news is that it could mark the end of the popular show, Inside The NBA, that features Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith.

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