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‘Inside the NBA’ Shows Why It’s the Greatest Sports Studio Show of All Time

Ernie, Kenny, Chuck and Shaq gave America a little of everything during the Knicks’ blowout clincher against the Cavaliers.
Jimmy Traina|
Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith gave us a song and dance at halftime of the Knicks’ blowout win against the Cavaliers on Monday.
Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith gave us a song and dance at halftime of the Knicks’ blowout win against the Cavaliers on Monday. | ESPN

1. During my SI Media Podcast interview with Charles Barkley last week, I asked him to respond to critics who have said Inside the NBA has slipped this season.

The question seems foolish after what we saw from Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Barkley on Monday night during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Knicks and Cavaliers.

With the game basically over in the second quarter, and the series being a complete dud the last three games, Inside the NBA knew they couldn’t just talk X’s and O’s.

At halftime, Smith said to forget the highlights of the non-competitive game. Instead, he and Shaq sang the Frank Sinatra classic, New York, New York.

The crew brought back Shaq’s surreal explanation from a few years ago about only filling up his gas tank $20 at a time to save money.

Robots scared the daylights out of Barkley.

And Barkley taught America about the word “quit.”

If there was any doubt, Inside the NBA is still as good as it gets when it comes to sports television.

2. It wasn’t just games and antics on Inside the NBA. Knicks guard Landry Shamet also dropped a tremendous quote about Knicks fans who have been completely out of control during this playoff run.

It’s hard to argue with Shamet’s assessment of Knicks fans, as you’ll see here.

3. While scrolling through TikTok on Sunday, I came across a video of a 12-year-old Knicks fan named Carmelo (yes, named after former Knick, Carmelo Anthony) getting surprised for his birthday with playoff tickets for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Carmelo, wearing an OG Anunoby jersey, was completely blown away and overwhelmed. He fell to his knees in tears and even said to his mom at one point, “Do you know expensive those tickets are?”

The video was touching and I loved the fact that the young boy acknowledged that the price was astronomical.

Unfortunately, I can’t embed the video, but you can watch it here.

Since I tend to lean on the cynical side of things, though, my first thought after the video ended was, “Oh, this poor kid. There isn’t a chance in hell there’s going to be a Game 5.”

I was correct. However, Carmelo took things in stride and appeared on his mom’s TikTok account to address the situation.

“Game just ended,” said Carmelo. “Might not be going to Game 5, but all that matters is the Knicks are coming out of the East and that we’re going to the NBA Finals. Hopefully God can bless me with some tickets, but if not, I’m more than happy to be watching from home. I just can’t believe the Knicks have gone this far.”

Hopefully, someone from the Knicks organization or the NBA finds out about Carmelo’s story and comes up with a couple of tickets for him because his love for the team is genuine and he seems like the type of kid that would appreciate the gesture.

4. Speaking of tickets, the Cavaliers pulled off some bush league nonsense Monday night. The organization refused to let Fat Joe sit in the seats he paid for and also kept other Knicks fans out of front row seats.

You’d think the Cavs would be more concerned that their team blew a 22-point lead in Game 1 and quit in a couple of other games.

Last night’s game was essentially over in the second quarter, so the Cavaliers must have given up on controlling the seating situation because Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner ended up in the front row. This is significant because the couple mocked Tracy Morgan, who was stuck in the second row.

5. How has no one in Bryce Harper’s life told him that this is a psychotic way to apply toothpaste?

6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with Inside the NBA’s Charles Barkley.

Barkley defends Inside the NBA’s first season on ESPN, calls out the NBA for its playoff scheduling, reacts to his recent dust-up with Draymond Green, and expresses his excitement for Inside the NBA to work the NBA Finals for the first time ever.

In addition, Barkley weighs in on ESPN’s Shams Charania spoiling the MVP announcement, LeBron James’s future, the NCAA tournament expanding to a field of 76 teams, patching things up with Michael Jordan, why he loves Sean McDonough, his plans for the offseason and much more.

Following Barkley, Sal Licata, from SNY TV and The Sal Licata Show, joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include the NBA playoffs, NFL schedule thoughts, the podcast’s opening jingle, Sal getting ratio'd on Twitter, my experience buying concert tickets, Auntie Anne’s prices and 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.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I have to admit, I didn’t realize Ben Stiller was such a longtime Knicks fan until last year. That’s a bad job by me because he’s been there all along, as you’ll see in this classic ‘90s video.

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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