Starting next season, ESPN will broadcast the beloved Inside the NBA show. That means, the likes of Charles Barkley and his crew will continue with their banter filled analysis of basketball games every week. With their future secured, the quartet are now finalizing all the aspects of this shift.
TNT and its parent company WBD ticked off many fans when they lost their NBA media-rights bid. The show was integral to the entertainment the NBA has been showcasing for more than two decades. After all, the cast had an impressive chemistry.
To make matters worse, Charles Barkley expressed annoyance that the league betrayed both them and the fans. He even announced his retirement before turning around and focusing on his future with TNT. With him now set to continue on the show, the Round Mound of Rebound decided to let out a joke earlier on the show.
Times have changed, Kenny. We gotta go back to kissing a**.
Charles Barkley to colleague Kenny Smith
The Hall of Famer famously once went on a hilarious rant about the workload at ESPN. This joke may look like subtle shot at ESPN. But it could also be him taking shots on being an employee again. That is because, once the TNT lost the exclusive deal, he was about to collaborate with them on other projects.
Charles Barkley jokes about the new developments with “Inside the NBA”
“Times have changed, Kenny. We gotta go back to kissing ass.” pic.twitter.com/nPuAFYDlfK
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 20, 2024
Those projects would have made him a partner of the network. But instead, they would have to get back to ‘kissing a**’. He had plans to retire at 60 and hand it over to one of the younger analysts, but those plans are moot for now.
Charles Barkley and Inside the NBA crew brings out creative side of production crew
The quartet along with their production crew were aware that the news of their show continuing was met with much fanfare. That means their jokes will continue and the quartet’s chemistry will continue to shine. This also had the production crew thinking and they came up with a clip to poke fun at the situation.
The clip was from the movie, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street‘ where Leonardo DiCaprio was seen addressing his colleagues. Here Charles Barkley’s face was put on DiCaprio’s body as held the mic. Then the line from the movie plays.
I’m not leaving. I’m not f***ing leaving…. The show goes on.
Inside the NBA production crew
The clip also shows other characters on the show wearing faces of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and others from the crew. They were cheering and were ecstatic once Barkley, as in DiCaprio announced that the ‘show goes on.’
Both networks and the NBA have done their part to ensure Inside the NBA does go on. However, both networks still have to sort out the contract of Shaquille O’Neal. Without him, this quartet is not complete. But considering how everyone feels about him, the former player will likely sort out a new contract soon.
