Former Rockets Star Unloads the Ether on Looming TNT Split

Former Houston Rockets star-turned-TV-analyst Charles Barkley shared his thoughts on TNT losing the trademark show Inside the NBA.

Former Auburn basketball player Charles Barkley jokes with announcers Jay Williams, left, and Roxy Bernstein, right, as Auburn Tigers take on USC Trojans at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala., on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. Auburn Tigers defeated USC Trojans 91-75. / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Charles Barkley has done it all. The former Houston Rockets forward made several All-Star teams for different organizations, won an MVP, and is hailed as one of the game's best players of all time.

He's also the ultimate example across all sports of how to transition to a television analyst in his post-playing career. Barkley joined TNT's Inside the NBA in 2000, immediately after retiring from the NBA, and has thrived immensely.

This shouldn't be a surprise, as he's never been one to mince words. Barkley will say exactly how he feels, which has even costed him friendships, as in the case of Michael Jordan. 

Unsurprisingly, Barkley didn't hold back when speaking on Inside the NBA's looming dismantle, as Warner Bros. Discovery is on the verge of losing their existing rights in the league's new proposed deal, which has yet to be finalized. Barkley was on the Dan Patrick Show and stated the following.

“Morale sucks, plain and simple. I just feel so bad for the people I work with, Dan. These people have families and I just really feel bad for them right now. These people I work with, they screwed this thing up, clearly, and we don’t have zero idea what’s gonna happen. I don’t feel good. I’m not gonna lie, especially when they came out yesterday and said we bought college football. I was like, well, damn, they could have used that money to buy the NBA.”

The Hall of Famer continued.

"We’re just sitting back, waiting on these people to figure out what they’re going to do....

My two favorite wines are Inglenook and Opus. These clowns I work for, they've turned us into Ripple and Boone's Farm and Thunderbird."

Barkley didn't stop there.

"I am [angry]. I’ve actually been with these guys where I’ve spent time with their — they bring their newborns in, they bring their kids in, they come in like when they were in high school and now they’ve graduated from college.

That’s how long. Ernie’s been there 32 years, Kenny’s been there 27, I’ve been there 24.

Some of these people I work with, they brought their newborns in to say hello to us, they brought them in in high school when they graduated, and now they’ve already graduated from college."

“So, yeah, I’m angry at people — they’re part of my family, to be honest with you. And I feel bad for those guys.

The new deal would keep basketball on ABC and ESPN through parent company Disney, paying roughly $2.7 billion, while also giving new rights packages to NBC (at $2.6 billion) and Amazon (paying $1.8 billion to $2 billion). All told, the league would receive $7 billion in total.

When the NBA officially puts pen to paper on the new deal, Warner Bros. will have the right to match, although it's assumed that they won't. If they don't, the 2024-25 season will be the final season for the show, ending a 35-year relationship.

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