Upset Fans Thrash Adam Silver’s NBA as Shaquille O’Neal and TNT Fellas Prepare for Heartbreaking End

It’s almost the end of TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’ and fans of the show are showing no mercy to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. As per the reports, the NBA is set to finalize new media rights deals with ESPN, Amazon, and NBC later this week. This further confirms that NBA season 2024-25 will be Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley‘s last stint on ‘Inside the NBA’. Speaking of the same on ‘SiriusXM NBA Radio, Barkley has hinted towards what comes next.

The former Philadelphia 76ers star does not care much for himself as he stated he is already 61 and for all that matters, he will have more time to play golf. However, he is concerned for other people who have been associated with the show. “… 200 people gonna lose their job at Turner if we lose, if we lose to NBA,” he said. Barkley was questioned further enquiring if he and the other guys will continue the show on a different network. “Well, I don’t think Ernie would leave well be… I know Ernie would not go anywhere else… Ernie’s almost 70 years old. I think he’s going to retire sooner than later…” the 11x All-Star replied.

Notably, Johnson has been hosting Inside the NBA since 1990, following which Smith and Barkley joined him in 1998 and 2000, respectively. And the popular line-up of the show took its complete shape after Shaquille O’Neal joined the show in 2011. Since then, the show has become even more of a fan favorite not only because of the compelling insight into the NBA but also because of the camaraderie between the hosts that made the show authentic and entertaining.

However, with TNT no longer as the domestic NBA rights partner, all of this is most likely to end. And the fans could not be more infuriated with the NBA going ahead with a different network. As a result, the fans on X have held NBA commissioner Adam Silver responsible for this whole scenario.

‘Inside the NBA’ fans bash Adam Silver for the show’s fate

The majority section of replies, under NBA Central’s post featuring Barkley’s radio interview, is filled with fans of the show thrashing the NBA commissioner left and right for ending ties with TNT’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. However, there are some who believe that Silver is not the one to be blamed for this.

One X user shamed the NBA commissioner to create a situation where Ernie Johnson will have no option but to retire. The 67-year-old has been with the show for well over three decades and shifting to another network doesn’t seem like a possibility according to Barkley. “I think he’s gonna retire sooner than later,” he further remarked, amplifying the situation.

Another X user alleged that all Silver cares for is making the league global and not about the culture. He alleged that the 62-year-old only cares for money and not the quality of the league. It was earlier believed that the NBA was planning to incur a three-fold increase in revenue with the selling of rights. As per the recent estimates, NBA could reach $75 billion as compared to previous $24 billion.

Meanwhile, another enthusiast went to the extent of stating the present NBA commissioner as the worst he has ever seen.

Although very few, there were some who defended Adam Silver. One of the users stated that he believes that this whole scenario is not the NBA commissioner’s fault for key stakeholders can drive the decisions.

Then there is Joshua B. Porter, who blamed the TNT’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, itself for the scenario where the NBA on TNT came at stake. CEO David Zaslav had offered $1.8 to $2.1 billion and when NBC bid $2.8 billion, Zaslav reportedly refused to meet the number. He had also remarked, “We don’t have to have the NBA,” before the competition for the rights began.

With finalization nearly confirmed for the week, ‘Inside the NBA’ with its eighteen Emmys might say its final goodbye in 2025, unless, Zaslav matches the value once the deal is complete.