“Sh*t Is Confusing”: Adam Silver’s $76B Decision Could Test America’s Patience, as Charles Barkley & TNT Face Harsh Reality

And it’s all over. The NBA is finally cutting ties with TNT after 35 years. Adam Silver decided to pull the plug on the long-standing partnership, and the NBA will have a new home from the 2025-26 season. But this doesn’t mean the viewers will have it easy as fears of confusion about the TV listings are already creeping to the surface.

Amazon, NBC’s $76 billion bid was enough to persuade Silver’s front office, but with that, a new problem came to the fore. The new home of the NBA is also the broadcaster of the NFL. And how will this situation be handled on game nights? We won’t know until things really kick-start in the 2025/26 season.

This was a major talking point on a recent episode of the Come Talk 2 Me podcast. “My personal opinion is sh*t is confusing where you gonna watch the games at, man. You know, personally, I was dead a*s. I was looking at it like NBC gets the games after the NFL season on Sunday nights, and then Peacock gets 12 games. I’m not saying the exact games. And then, ESPN and Disney still have games. And you kinda alluded to this yesterday, Ma$e, that it’s kinda all over the place,” Cam’ron said. “I’m just gonna download the f*cking NBA package because it’s just too confusing to know if it’s coming on Peacock tonight, if it’s coming on NBC, if it’s coming on Amazon, if it’s coming on ESPN. It’s a lot of different apps you’re gonna have to be downloading if you don’t have it.”

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Adam Silver emphasized the need to look at the future and make streaming services the staple of game experiences. With the higher rate of cable cuttings in the era of streaming platforms, the NBA thought it to be the way to go in their bid to look at the future. But it might come at a cost for the viewers. “Now is the League Pass price gonna go up? Probably so, but I’d rather have League Pass and know what the f*ck I’m watching that could get every game than trying to download 800 different apps,” the rapper concluded. But there was more.

With the imminent divorce between the NBA and TNT, everyone’s favorite “Inside the NBA” will now have its farewell year on TV. Adam Silver has always been fond of the crew consisting of Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith. “I can’t imagine those guys [on ‘Inside the NBA’] won’t be performing and announcing together in the future, and we all love them,” Silver previously said. But Ma$e reminded the Emmy Award-winning crew of the grim reality.

Charles Barkley and Co. face harsh reality due to Adam Silver’s decision

The obvious reason for the historical switch from TNT to NBC was the monetary aspects of the deal. On top of it, there were multiple reasons for not accepting TNT’s bid that matched Amazon’s $1.8 billion figure for a package to broadcast the NBA games which can now escalate the matter to a legal standoff. But given the obvious fact that the “Inside the NBA” show will not survive more than the 2024/25 season, the crew must face the harsh reality of the deal.

“When you think about Amazon recruiting the entire inside the NBA staff, I think this is what Barkley was alluding to when he said, I’m probably not gonna be doing this anymore,” Ma$e stated. “Sometimes when you’ve been great in one one place, you just hate changing uniforms. And for them doing all of this stuff with TNT, it probably would it probably would look weird for some of them to be on Amazon. It’s almost like like when a lion comes in, if it is a new lion, you kill all the cubs.”

Predicting who might stay behind, the podcast team highlighted Kenny Smith’s name alongside Shaquille O’Neal. Ernie Johnson is possibly on his way out with Chuck already announcing his intention to retire next year. “Ernie said he was out as well. So that’s 2 of the 4. I think Shaq would do it. I think Shaq’s the guy. Kenny? I think Shaq and Kenny would do it. Shaq for sure because we’ve seen Shaq in his endorsements. Like, he doesn’t mind,” Trysta Krick concluded. Whether we see half of the Inside the NBA crew on Amazon from the 2025/26 year is a different conversation. But for now, the primary objective of watching the games is shrouded in a disorienting cloak as the whole of the USA is wrapping their head around how the outlook will be on game nights.

And to absorb more interesting stories, watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where the prodigy puts Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr under the pump with loaded NBA questions and more in this video below.