Inside the NBA will move forward on ESPN because Jimmy Pitaro cares.
Or, as Awful Announcing owner and editor Ben Koo put it, everyone’s favorite NBA pregame show will survive because ESPN’s president “gave a sh*t.”
But that survival comes with plenty of uncertainty.
Inside the NBA will air its final episode on TNT Sports after the Eastern Conference Finals. After that, the show that became synonymous with NBA coverage will officially be licensed to ESPN. What will the ESPN version look like? Nobody really knows yet.
We do know Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith will be involved.
Johnson said in March that, as far as he knows, the plan is to keep things mostly the same. The show will still be produced in Atlanta with the same crew, but it will air on ESPN or ABC instead of TNT. Still, there’s a lingering sense of discomfort.
Smith called the move “uncomfortable.” Barkley has already dared a company that technically doesn’t employ him to fire him. He’s openly criticized ESPN’s NBA coverage, slammed the idea of being run through the “car wash” of its usual programming, and made clear he’s not here to play the corporate game.
Even with Barkley’s unease, ESPN leadership insists the plan is to keep the crew intact.
“I have not heard any false notes. My understanding is we’re keeping the band together,” Pitaro told Front Office Sports last week.
Barkley signed a 10-year deal with TNT in 2022, but he’s indicated he only wants to stay on Inside the NBA for two more years — no more, no less. Remember, this is the same man who already tried to retire before canceling his own farewell tour. O’Neal re-upped with a $15 million-a-year contract with TNT in February, and Smith and Johnson are expected to remain, according to FOS.
TNT, meanwhile, is treating this like a farewell tour, because it is, at least on their network. Inside the NBA isn’t going away, but TNT will roll out a behind-the-scenes special to celebrate the show’s final run under its banner.
So yes, Inside the NBA is leaving TNT. But it’s not going away. And that’s because Jimmy Pitaro actually gave a damn.
