Shaquille O’Neal Enjoys the Shifted ‘Inside the NBA’ ESPN Schedule for Simple Reason

‘Inside the NBA’ moved from TNT to ESPN this season.

‘Inside the NBA’ made a move to ESPN this year under the NBA’s new media rights deal / Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images

The tip off of the 2025-26 NBA season marked the beginning of a new media rights deal and the end to the TNT era. Luckily for NBA fans, the beloved Inside the NBA pre- and postgame show with host Ernie Johnson and analysts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith continued with Disney landing a licensing deal to air the show across ESPN and ABC, with Turner Sports producing the program.

A move to ESPN brought unwarranted outcries regarding whether the new network would bring drastic change to Inside the NBA. Those concerns weren’t necessary, as Inside the NBA kept its entire makeup in place from the cast to the producers to the studio with Turner retaining creative control.

The biggest change for the beloved crew, other than the network their show now airs on, is its schedule. Inside the NBA is tied to marquee dates across the NBA calendar, which has already included the season tip-off and Christmas Day slate. In between, the crew has had time off with a six-week break from mid-November until Christmas, now on another brief hiatus until Jan. 24.

As the season goes on, though, basketball fans will get to see O’Neal, Johnson, Barkley and Smith more often with over half of Inside the NBA’s 20-announced air dates for the regular season coming in February and beyond. The crew will be front and center in the playoffs, which includes the Eastern Conference and NBA Finals. Postseason dates for Inside the NBA will be announced later in the season.

Amid the first year with Inside the NBA on ESPN, O’Neal caught up with Sports Illustrated on behalf of Hershey as part of the release of his new Shaq-A-Licious SLAMS gummy candy, now available nationwide, which celebrates the Hall of Famer’s love of slam dunks, hoops and big-kid energy. Midway through the first season at the new network, the four-time NBA champion admitted he enjoys the back-loaded schedule because when it’s the crew’s time to talk, everyone will listen.

“I actually like it,” O’Neal said to SI in an interview. “Because with a lot of competition, you got all these other guys doing it, and we haven’t really been on a lot. But as I’m looking at the schedule, when the playoffs start, you’re going to have the big dogs talking.

“The fact that I’ve only worked two times last year and I haven’t even worked once this year, but I’m looking at my schedule and once March comes, you’re going to have the big dogs on and people will tune in. I remember when it was just us and ESPN, but now it’s this and it’s that and that. And everyone’s doing a great job, but when the playoffs start, you got to see the big dogs. You got to see the boys.”

During Inside the NBA’s early-season broadcasts, the show has been more of the same, just with an ESPN logo in the place of TNT’s. The league’s new media deal brought back NBC and its famed “Roundball Rock” theme music following a 23-year hiatus for the network. Amazon Prime is in the mix, too, with the streaming service broadcasting games on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

In a sea of change, Inside the NBA is one of the few constants across the league’s new media landscape. You’ve just caught the fellas a bit less and on a new channel this season. O’Neal, Johnson, Barkley and Smith are getting ready for a postseason run just like the contenders on the floor, though. And the Big Fella likes it that way.

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