Legendary 'Inside the NBA' producer returning

The man who helped make TNT’s Inside the NBA the industry standard is back in the game.

Tim Kiely, who produced the show from 1995 through the 2022-23 season and also served as Warner Bros. Discovery Sports VP (production), is rejoining TNT Sports after a year in retirement. He will serve as vice president, executive producer of NBA studio production.

Inside the NBA has earned 21 Sports Emmys and been honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Kiely deserves a large part of the credit. He helped assemble the show’s cast ; Kenny Smith joined in 1998, followed by Charles Barkley (2000) and Shaquille O’Neal (2011). More than that, he set the tone for the show’s “anything goes” mentality, partly the result of his early directive doing away with teleprompters and scripted bits.

Kiely’s influence helped create the incredible chemistry and family atmosphere on the show’s set. When Kiely “retired” in 2023, host Ernie Johnson called him the “best of all time.” Smith praised him as the “architect” who built the show.

But Kiely returns to a show facing a very uncertain future. TNT lost its NBA media rights in the league’s new TV package, and the 2024-25 season seems to be the final year for Inside the NBA in its current format. TNT seems committed to continuing the show after that despite losing media rights, possibly as a general sports program. There’s also the possibility it could move to another network.

O’Neal isn’t commenting on the show’s future or his media career. Barkley recently rebooted his Round Mound Media production company but denied the move had anything to do with plans to take Inside the NBA independent.

Whatever Inside the NBA’s future holds, it will help to have a familiar face helping steer the way.

[ Warner Bros. Discovery ]

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