Charles Barkley teases the end of NBA on TNT

For basketball fans desperately hoping for some good news about the NBA on TNT’s future, Charles Barkley didn’t exactly offer a vote of confidence.

Wednesday night on Inside the NBA , Barkley predicted the Dallas Mavericks would get blown out by the Oklahoma City Thunder. After the Mavericks win, Luka Dončić had some fun with Barkley’s prediction, asking the Hall of Famer to say the same thing before their next game against Oklahoma City.

“Luka getting a firm grasp on what fans have thought for a while, Chuckster. If you root for the other team, then you might be in pretty good shape,” Ernie Johnson said after listening to Dončić’s comment, implying that Barkley is a mush.

“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about it much longer,” Barkley said as he attempted to contain his laughter.

The implication there is that Barkley doesn’t expect Warner Bros. Discovery to reach an agreement with the NBA to keep a package of games on TNT. Warner Bros. Discovery/TNT will see their current NBA rights deal expire after the 2024-25 season. NBC is believed to be the favorite to land the NBA’s “B” package of games for an offer of $2.5 billion per year. While WBD is reportedly willing to match NBC’s offer, the NBA wants them to bid $2.8 billion per year, creating a point of contention in their negotiations.

Barkley has not been shy about the feeling inside TNT during the ongoing negotiations, recently noting, “Everybody is scared to death.” And while his latest comment of “you don’t have to worry about it much longer” wasn’t a vote of confidence, fans can still lean into Barkley being a mush.

“That means we’re gonna be here forever!” Kenny Smith said with a laugh in response to the bleak picture Barkley painted about the future of Inside the NBA . Before Barkley’s prediction, however, Smith similarly made a comment about Inside the NBA coming to an end.

Earlier this month, Smith fell on the stairs as he ran to the in-studio videoboard. Wednesday night, the NBA on TNT studio revealed that they fitted the stairway with a chairlift as a way of ribbing Smith for falling a couple of weeks ago.

“I loved it. I ain’t gonna lie, we’re gonna keep that there,” Smith said of the chair as they went to a commercial break. But just before the commercial began, Smith could be heard saying, “Oh this might be out last day anyway.”

Even if TNT loses its NBA rights, Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal still have some time left together. TNT will carry the Western Conference Finals during these playoffs, but more importantly, the network still has NBA rights next season before their contract runs out. And while no basketball fan wants to see Inside the NBA come to an end, next season would be wild if the best studio crew in sports went into it knowing it was their last ride together.

[ Inside the NBA ]

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