Charles Barkley and the gang are taking “Inside the NBA” to ESPN next season, but that is not the only show he and his colleagues will appear on. The other one does not sound all that exciting, at least at this point.
Barkley shared some new information about his future during a Monday morning appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.” The Hall of Famer said he, host Ernie Johnson and fellow analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith will continue to work for TNT even after “Inside the NBA” moves to ESPN.
Barkley said TNT recently tried out a new pilot show with the Emmy Award-winning crew, and it did not go well.
“We taped a pilot about a month ago and it was the stupidest sh– ever,” Barkley told Patrick. “We’re gonna probably work on ESPN one-third or half the time, but they’re trying to do something stupid at TNT which is a stupid idea for a couple reasons. No. 1, we won’t have basketball highlights. But also, we’re probably gonna be going up against the NBA game. Anybody who likes basketball ain’t gonna 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 go sit around and talk about nothing.’ So, it’s complicated.
“Like I said, we taped a pilot just doing stupid stuff, and it was stupid stuff. I wouldn’t want to go out like that. … I’ll give TNT credit. They did say it was an awful pilot.”
"We taped a pilot about a month ago, and it was the stupidest s**t I've ever seen in my life." 😅
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) June 2, 2025
– Charles Barkley discusses the plan for Inside the NBA on TNT, despite not having the rights to NBA footage. pic.twitter.com/bdZwOza2Nn
Barkley said he understands why TNT wants him and his colleagues to continue to earn their money from the network, but he has concerns about how they can put together a successful show without TNT having any NBA rights.
Barkley has not been shy about what his role will look like at ESPN. He does not want to be spread thin at the network like some other analysts, which makes sense if he still has responsibilities with TNT. What those responsibilities will actually look like remains to be seen.
