SI

After Slow Start, ‘Inside the NBA’ Is Ready to Become a Staple Again

Ernie, Chuck, Kenny and Shaq are about to assume a much heavier workload for the second half of the season.
Jimmy Traina|
“Inside the NBA” will air much more frequently than it did in the first half of the season.
“Inside the NBA” will air much more frequently than it did in the first half of the season. | ESPN

1. It’s been a frustrating time for fans of Inside the NBA. The show, which moved from TNT to ESPN/ABC, has only aired nine times in four months so far this season thanks to scheduling quirks.

There have even been wild and deranged theories on social media that the NBA had a hand in keeping Inside the NBA off the air because the show doesn’t always paint the league in the best light, which is definitely one of the more unhinged sports conspiracy theories I’ve seen lately.

However, starting Friday, the show featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal will be back in your lives (if you’re an NBA fan) on a much more regular basis with the show scheduled to air 11 times over the next three weeks.

Inside the NBA is slated to air on Friday, Saturday and Sunday over the next three weeks. The show will also air on Saturday, March 14, before going on a break thanks to the NCAA tournament, which Barkley and Smith work for CBS/Turner. The show will also be on regularly throughout the playoffs, which begin on April 18.

In addition, and this will be huge, for the first time ever, Johnson, Barkley, Smith and Shaq will be the studio crew during the NBA Finals.

Even in its limited run on ESPN/ABC this season, it’s been crystal clear that Inside the NBA is the same exact show it has been for 30-plus years. The only difference has been the channel it’s on and frequency of shows.

Since the content is the same, it’s time now for NBA fans to sit back and finally enjoy the greatest sports studio show of all time on a regular basis, beginning tomorrow night.

2. A brand-new SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped this morning. This week’s show features a conversation with Ben Koo, the owner and editor of Awful Announcing.

The podcast covers all things Awful Announcing, including the history of the site, Koo’s philosophy for what to post and not post, the dilemma in amplifying terrible people in sports media, whether Koo feels the company is respected within the sports media industry, the site’s relationship with the networks that air sports and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

3. CBS announced on Thursday that Nate Burleson will take over studio hosting duties for the first two weeks of this year’s NCAA tournament. Ernie Johnson, who is normally the studio host, will return for the Final Four and title game.

Many believe that Burleson will eventually replace James Brown as the host of the NFL Today, so this could be looked at as kind of a trial run for Burleson as a main host as opposed to an analyst.

4. Get ready to see even more of Pat McAfee. Bloomberg reports that McAfee is now being represented by agent Ari Emmanuel, who is the CEO of Endeavor and TKO, which owns WWE, where McAfee works a side gig.

According to Bloomberg, McAfee will appear in four episodes of the Paramount+ series Tulsa King. McAfee also has a part in an upcoming Peter Berg movie, The Mosquito Bowl.

5. There’s some big Kevin Durant Twitter drama that I can’t even follow or understand, but you can read about it here. From what I can gather, Durant has been accused of having a burner account that he has used to trash teammates.

He was asked about the allegation during practice on Wednesday. Interestingly, he did not deny the accusation. Instead, he said he was “not here to get into Twitter nonsense.”

Why not just deny everything? His response just makes you wonder.

6. This is a blow to New Yorkers. Even as a Yankees fan, I always enjoy listening to Howie Rose while driving around in the summer just because he’s so great at radio play-by-play.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: As I said on this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina, I’m starting to get the baseball itch, so here’s an oldie, but goodie that a follower of mine reminded me of earlier this week.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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