The future of “Inside the NBA” was already a delicate topic late Friday night when Charles Barkley got into an elevator in Minneapolis after Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. Barkley's live candor as a commentator is a key reason why the studio show has become so influential and beloved by basketball fans and the league at large.
But it's a tense time for the show and its creators. Warner Bros. Discovery hasn't secured the rights to broadcast NBA games on TNT beyond next season, and without that, Inside the NBA's long-term future is uncertain. So not everyone was happy when Barkley, who had already fended off multiple attempts by security and publicists to block an interview, led me into an elevator full of colleagues.
Berkeley's on-screen foil, Kenny Smith, expressed frustration, but Berkeley made it clear that, as he has done in public for decades, he will not be silenced.
“Hey, I can talk to anybody,” Barkley told Smith in an expletive-filled voice, as other passengers in the elevator squirmed uncomfortably.
“It should be outside,” Smith said, arguing that the interview should take place outside the elevator.
Berkeley turned to me and said, “Don't worry about him.”
“She should approve it through Turner,” Smith said. “She should do it the right way.”
I asked Barkley why it was so important to him to speak out if others around him didn't want him to, and he nodded to the impact the uncertainty was having on the show's staff — and not just the well-known on-air personalities like Barkley, Smith, Shaquille O'Neal and host Ernie Johnson.
“These are people's lives,” Barkley said. “Not my life. Not Ernie's life. Not Kenny's life. Not Shaq's life. But the lives of all the people who work here. There are probably 100 people who work on the show. I mean, these are real people. I've seen their kids be born, graduate from high school, graduate from college.”
“Inside the NBA” began when Turner Sports acquired the rights to broadcast NBA games in 1989. Johnson became host in 1990, and Smith joined in 1998. Barkley's addition in 2000, and his candid views, cemented the show as a staple for basketball fans and an integral part of league culture. O'Neal joined the show in 2011, and the group's candid, incisive basketball analysis, unencumbered by access or ego, has endeared them to viewers and critics alike. Now this pillar of NBA coverage, at least in its current form, may be in danger.
Reports have emerged that Warner Bros. Discovery may lose the rights after failing to come to an agreement during an exclusive negotiating period with the NBA. Warner CEO David Zaslav said the company has the right to match any offer. Asked by TMZ on Thursday about the possibility of losing the show, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said, “We're still in discussions. Nobody knows what's going to happen.”
The tension surrounding the negotiations stands in stark contrast to the freewheeling style that made “Inside the NBA” so popular.
Early in his tenure, Barkley flamboyantly declared that if Houston Rockets' Yao Ming (then a 7-foot-6, relatively unproven center from China) scored 19 points in a particular game, he would kiss Smith's butt. In another show, to raise bets, Smith brought in a donkey for Barkley to kiss.
In 2018, Rockets players, including former Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, tried to approach the Clippers' locker room after a tense game. Sideline reporter Ross Gold-Onwood said police were present at the arena to prevent the incident from escalating. By the end of her report, O'Neal and Barkley were laughing uncontrollably, while Smith and Johnson tried to calm them down.
After catching his breath, O'Neal imaginarily called 911, saying, “Hello, police? Chris Paul is trying to hit me.”
Barkley fired back by naming a Clippers player: “Hey, it's Blake Griffin. Chris Paul is trying to get into the locker room! Come on down and help!”
The people who work behind the scenes create the fun graphics that spice up the on-air conversation, and the writers and producers' ideas sometimes become unforgettable parts of the show. The show is known throughout the league as a place where employees feel like they're part of a family.
“Inside the NBA” has also tackled serious issues, such as the 2014 Ferguson, Missouri, incident in which a white police officer was not charged for killing a black teenager, Michael Brown, and the show opened with a frank discussion of the situation.
And his influence among players is unquestionable: Dallas Mavericks rookie Derek Lively appeared on the show this month because an Oklahoma City Thunder player chased him around the court as if they were playing tag. Lively's friends were so excited they sent him the video.
“Not many people get to experience those moments,” he said.
A few days later, Lively's teammate, Daniel Gafford, was a guest on the arena set for the postgame show. He roared and pounded his chest during the game. On the “Inside the NBA” set, he even smiled sheepishly when Barkley called him by the wrong name.
“It's great to be here with you all,” Gafford said. “It's such an honor.”
Barkley told Gafford that there were times during his illustrious NBA career when he would cry because he wondered if he was good enough at basketball. I asked Gafford if he ever felt that way about himself. Gafford replied: Yes.
Lively said that if the show were to go away, the league would lose “one of the places where it feels comfortable and where people can say what they want to say without being afraid.”
“All four of these people, everybody has so much respect for them,” Lively continued. “Whenever they speak, people listen.”
He added: “Losing that connection would hurt the league.”
When the Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets to reach the conference finals, Barkley told Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards he hadn't been to Minnesota in decades. Edwards responded, “Bring you in,” which became a rallying cry for everyone from the local symphony orchestra to the governor of Minnesota.
“Inside the NBA” is typically filmed in studios in Atlanta, but the show was filmed at Target Center for the Western Conference finals between the Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks.
As fans streamed into the Minneapolis arena on Friday night, many found the set and waited for the stars to arrive, holding up jerseys and signs just like the NBA teams do.
Karen Steele, 51, held up a handwritten sign that read, “We Love Charles.” Her sister had bet her $50 that she could get a photo with Barkley, so she was there to try.
“He's the real deal,” Steele said. “Some people may not have reacted well” when Edwards made the comment, he added. “He reacted great. Our city loves him. He was a great basketball player. He's fun to watch.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Berkeley has been one of the most vocal about the show's future.
this month, Berkeley said, There was a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave if TNT lost in the NBA.
In a recent appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show,” Berkley blasted management at Warner Bros. Discovery, calling the company's leaders “clowns” although he never mentioned CEO Zaslav by name.
“When we merged, the first thing the boss said was, 'We don't need the NBA,'” Barkley said. “Well, we don't need the boss, but we do need me, Kenny, Shaq, Ernie and the guys that work there, the rest of us.”
Other stars of “Inside the NBA” were quiet.
Before Friday's pregame show, O'Neal sat courtside and chatted with passersby. When asked for an interview, he grinned and said, “Ever since Chuck's rant, we've been told not to talk.” He may have been joking, but a TNT spokesman later said the cast had not been told not to talk.
When asked to do an interview, Johnson introduced me to his PR team. TNT declined to arrange interviews with talent for this article. After the game, Johnson interrupted my interview with Barkley as he was exiting the elevator to accuse me of approaching him without the company's permission.
Because TNT does not broadcast the NBA Finals, the show's season will end with the Western Conference Finals. Game 4 is Tuesday night, with Dallas leading 3-0 in the best-of-seven series. “Inside the NBA” will air again next season, but it remains to be seen if it will be the last.
“I love what I do,” Barkley said. “I've worked with these guys for 24 years. It's a lot of fun to be around them. I hope that continues. I hope, but we have no control over it.”