Barkley has openly expressed his frustration with both ESPN and TNT.
1.
“That’s because those guys at the other network, which we’ll be joining next year, that’s all they obsess over.”
“But you guys are clueless because you constantly focus on the Lakers and the Warriors.”
“But that’s because you guys at the other network, where we’ll also look foolish next year when we join, but let’s not forget, Oklahoma City and the Cavs have been performing well for six months.”
Charles Barkley delivered these remarks on TNT’s *Inside the NBA* on Thursday night in a passionate tirade about how much attention is given to the Lakers and Warriors at the expense of the Cavaliers and Thunder.
Charles Barkley RANTS about Lakers/Warriors coverage (and the LeBron James/Michael Jordan debates) from “the idiots over at the other network (ESPN), which we’re joining next year.” pic.twitter.com/0RyvL0H4ix
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 7, 2025
Barkley’s rant seemed to miss the mark for me because he’s well aware that ESPN and TNT are in the business of ratings. The Lakers and Warriors will always attract more viewers than the Cavaliers and Thunder, whether it’s during games or on debate shows, and he knows that.
Criticizing ESPN for overemphasizing the Lakers and Warriors feels somewhat hypocritical since TNT would broadcast Lakers and Warriors games over Cavaliers and Thunder games every week if possible. It’s like the Yankees and Red Sox, or the Cowboys. You might not like it as a sports fan, but that’s the reality from a business perspective.
The most intriguing aspect of the backlash from the rants is that it appears the *Inside the NBA* Twitter account posted it and then deleted it. Hmm…
The larger narrative here, though, is that since it was revealed that TNT would no longer broadcast NBA games, but *Inside the NBA* would continue next season under a licensing agreement with ESPN, the entire situation has felt strange.
When it was initially announced that the NBA had left Warner Brothers Discovery for Amazon, there was a huge outcry globally to save *Inside the NBA*.
Then, ESPN rescued *Inside the NBA* (sort of), but the *Inside the NBA* team didn’t seem thrilled. Most of the reaction to the deal focused on the negatives (Shaq didn’t have a contract, no one from TNT or ESPN consulted the crew about the licensing deal, etc.). There wasn’t this wave of relief that the show would continue.
Barkley, in particular, has repeatedly criticized WBD for losing the NBA while also making jokes about joining ESPN next season.
But are they just jokes, or is he passively aggressively complaining about having his show air on ESPN?
What seems to be causing a lot of confusion with this entire deal is that *Inside the NBA* is not becoming an ESPN show. Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, and Barkley are not becoming colleagues with ESPN talent. ESPN will not have editorial control over *Inside the NBA*. The show will continue to be produced by TNT staff.
There are only two changes coming to *Inside the NBA*: 1) The show will air on ESPN instead of TNT, and 2) the show, which has aired on Thursdays during its run on TNT, will air on Saturdays and some Sundays starting with the 2025-26 season.
Is Barkley upset that he will have to work weekends next season? Who knows? I can tell you, though, that during one of his appearances on the *SI Media* podcast, he told me that during the football season, he flies to Las Vegas every couple of weekends. Clearly, he won’t be able to do that next season.
Here’s what Barkley told Dan Patrick just a month ago:
“It’s been very fascinating behind the scenes. There’s been a lot of chicanery going on behind the scenes that I haven’t been happy with. I’m hoping everything works out. It’s been fascinating dealing with all the TNT b.s. this entire time.
“After meeting with ESPN, they made me feel better, but between TNT and ESPN, I just wanna figure out my workload. They haven’t given me a definitive answer because I don’t think they know a definitive answer, to be honest with you.
“The TNT people, they are stupid. They wrote a cease-and-desist letter to Amazon and NBC, and it really ticked me off because, wait a minute. They’re trying to say they traded my show to ESPN. That’s the same as them keeping it. I’m like, I don’t think that’s the way it works. We were having some heated discussions behind the scenes down in Atlanta.
“They sent a cease-and-desist letter to Amazon and NBC saying I wasn’t available. I said that’s not the way my contract reads. Y’all lost the NBA. If I want to leave, I can leave. That was the bone of contention. They were like, ‘no, you’re under contract.’ I’ll take my chances in court and I felt really good about my chances in court. Regardless of what they say, them trading us to ESPN isn’t the same as us being under contract to TNT.”
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