“We’re going on a blind date,” says Charles Barkley about going TNT and ESPN’s unorthodox deal. Inside the NBA is going to continue after 2025 but not on its broadcast home of three decades. It’s even more hilarious that Charles Barkley spent the better part of his sportscasting career trolling ESPN. And now he’s going to be on it. TNT and ESPN still have to work out all the nitty-gritties of it and none of the Inside Guys have any idea how it’s going to work out. But Chuck is a gambling man, and he can take a wild guess.

Ernie Johnson, the “unsullied” TNT personality since 1989 spoke out about in this entire NBA media rights saga for the first time saying, “It’s a different kind of a relationship you haven’t seen before and how, you know, we stay here and we do the show and it shows up somewhere else.” This is exactly what Chuck likens to a blind date.

They don’t know how they will work this out with ESPN’s existing structure that includes their old friend, Stephen A. Smith front and center. Chuck has poked fun at them all this while but he said on The Steam Room today, “I have so much respect for all those guys at ESPN.” 

And despite TNT and ESPN’s rivalry, Barkley said he never saw them as competition because of one reason. “We’re all in the basketball business… I want those guys to do well because if they do well, it makes basketball popular.”

Charles Barkley believes ESPN also has a similar expectation by getting the license to air Inside the NBA. “I hope they hope that we’re successful it helps basketball become popular a lot.”

But so far these expectations are still hypothetical. There’s a lot that ESPN needs to decide with TNT, including the contracts of the Inside Guys. Although it’s not confirmed, the quartet are seemingly on board with this development.

A new era for Charles Barkley & Co.

The seismic shift in basketball sportscasting was announced on Monday, a day before Inside the NBA was supposed to air. Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith will appear on ESPN starting from the 2025-26 season. Turner will independently produce the show and license it to ESPN. Unusually, the Inside Guys didn’t address it on Tuesday.

But Chuckster made a cheeky comment indirectly referencing it. “Times have changed, Kenny. We gotta go back to kissing a–.” He went from joking about getting fired last month to seemingly dreading working with ESPN. In the past, he was absolutely against the idea of ever going to ESPN and “work like a dog.” He also called out the Disney-owned network several times for letting its analysts go.

But times have indeed changed. Charles Barkley is ‘excited’ to work with ESPN and keep Inside the NBA going. And as they promised, there will be a lot of developments over the next year as they work out this arrangement.