“Our bosses did a s**tty job” – Charles Barkley drops unfiltered take on TNT blindsiding Inside the NBA crew amid ESPN takeover rumors

Former NBA star Charles Barkley revealed behind-the-scenes events after TNT lost the NBA rights last year. Since he retired from the NBA, Barkley has been part of TNT’s hit show, “Inside the NBA.” Together with Ernie Johnson, Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, fans loved watching basketball games that were covered by the network.

There has been a significant change in how the show will be run. After 36 years, TNT won’t feature NBA games. The league secured a new 11-year TV deal with ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime Video that will start from the 2025-26 season.

Initially, this put the hit show in a tough situation. The negotiations led to the show not being canceled and it will continue on ESPN. On Monday’s episode of “Pardon My Take” podcast, Barkley did not hold back on his thoughts about how TNT handled the situation.

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"I thought TNT, our bosses, did a sh**tty job. They did an awful job of keeping us abreast," Barkley said.

The former Phoenix Suns player stated that they were watching the internet for developments during the 2025 NBA Playoffs. They didn't get any intel on their jobs from any of their superiors.

"TNT, our bosses, they sucked, plain and simple. I'm like, 'Yo, man. Just tell us. Just shoot us straight'," he added. "'Cause these are real people. We literally were playing golf during the playoffs, looking at the internet. One story said we lost it, the next story said we still in negotiation, then we lost it, we still in negotiation. TNT never came to us like grown folks.

Charles Barkley also said they found out about the ESPN-TNT deal for their show from ESPN.

"I found out that we got traded to ESPN from ESPN. I'm sitting at home on a Friday night, I get a text... from Scott Van Pelt, Brian Windhorst, Elle Duncan and Bob Myers."

Barkley didn't like how it went down, since he thought they should've heard the news from TNT.

Charles Barkley thinks the show will be interesting under ESPN

Fans rejoiced when the news about the show potentially getting canceled went the other way. Charles Barkley and the rest of the "Inside the NBA" crew will still be together under a different network.

Barkley is excited to see how it's going to work out with ESPN. He said that it's likely going to be different, which will make it an interesting show. Though, he is unsure about how things will change under a different network.

It's also been confirmed that the crew behind the camera will remain with Charles Barkley and the rest of the cast.

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About the author

Reign Amurao

Reign Amurao specializes in basketball at Sportskeeda, bringing 3 years of experience to his role and a Bachelor's Degree in Communication.

A fervent supporter of the Phoenix Suns, Reign was hooked to their electrifying "Seven-Seconds-Or-Less" offense, which epitomizes high-paced and high-intensity basketball. For Reign, Steve Nash is the ultimate floor general, and he believes Boris Diaw could've been the next Magic Johnson if he had a bit more discipline. 

From Reign's perspective, Anthony Edwards is a 90s player stuck in modern times, and Gregg Popovich is an ultimate winner with unparalleled success and leadership in the sport.

Reign's expertise lies in NBA history, particularly the significant moments and trends of the 2000s and 2010s. He prioritizes in-depth research using only credible sources to maintain accuracy in his articles, and avoids misleading topics.

Beyond basketball, Reign enjoys gaming with friends and watches comedy shows and films.

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