Charles Barkley has been one of the faces of NBA media for quite some time as part of the Inside the NBA cast with Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith. He provided hot takes, lovely insights, and hilarious moments that became integral to an NBA fan’s love affair with the league.
Everyone knew the beloved show’s days were numbered when the league signed an 11-year deal with streaming giants Amazon. TNT would have no interest in maintaining a show that doesn’t serve them any purpose, regardless of how popular it is among fans.
While fans are preparing themselves for one final ride with the Inside the NBA crew, Barkley has been open about his thoughts on the entire thing. He even went into detail on the human aspect of the entire thing.
Charles Barkley champions the human aspect of Inside the NBA as they prepare for their swan song
Barkley recently spoke up about his 24-year tenure with the popular basketball program and how the change would affect the lives of the people making the show.
Per Fadeaway World’s Vishwesha Kumar:
“The people, because you got to understand some, if you’ve been at the same job for 24 years, when I got there, some of them people didn’t have kids.
“That’s what I feel really s***y about. Because, you know, I was telling somebody the other night, we were sitting around smoking cigars, and I said, yo, man, this has been really depressing for me because we kind of knew we were going to lose the thing. I mean, it was one of the worst kept secrets in the history of civilization.”
“We were traveling for the conference finals, and then we did a couple of games on NBA TV in the finals. I was taking everybody out, trying to keep their spirits up, and they were like, man, I’m married. I got a wife. I got kids. I got a mortgage. And I ain’t got no job. It really hurt me that people of my friends was talking like that.”
It’s simply heartbreaking to see Barkley talk about the status of the people who made the show possible. While this isn’t a definite end to the beloved program, the entire ordeal leaves a nasty taste in everyone’s mouth.
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