The NBA is beginning the final year of its current media rights deal, marking the impending conclusion of the beloved "Inside the NBA" program featuring Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny "The Jet" Smith and Ernie Johnson.
Turner Sports made a push to retain its NBA media rights, but the league ultimately went with NBC and Amazon as its new media partners following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.
The "Inside the NBA" crew is now embarking on its farewell tour as they wrap up the final year of their decades-long, award-winning program.
Charles Barkley has always been one to make his opinions heard. And now that he's on the way out, he isn't holding back at all.
On Thursday night, Barkley talked about how he had no plans to put in any overtime hours. In doing so, the NBA Hall of Famer took aim at his TNT Sports bosses with a witty eight-word question.
"What are they going to do, fire us?" Barkley asked.
This clip is understandably going viral on social media.
Earlier this year, Barkley made waves around the sports media world when he announced he'd be retiring from television after the conclusion of the 2024-25 NBA season -- despite signing a 10-year contract extension with TNT Sports in 2022.
Barkley later walked back that decision with an official statement.
"I love my TNT Sports family. My (number one) 1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible. We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do. I'm looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me," Barkley said.
"I have to say ... I've been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about. I appreciate them and all of my colleagues for their continued support, and most importantly our fans. I'm going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come."