Source: Boston Globe / Getty
Ernie Johnson is the senior statesman of TNT. The sports personality has been on the network for 35 years, so it was fitting that he was the one who made the final sign-off for the network’s Inside the NBA show.
The visibly emotional Johnson,68, said, “If I had written the script, the NBA and TNT would be together forever. It’s not going to happen, but while I was disappointed, I was sad, I was not bitter. We know how business works. Gratitude is the operative word for me.”
Johnson has reason to be grateful as the longest-running host of the show. He has hosted Inside the NBA since its inception in 1990. Kenny “The Jet” Smith has the next-longest tenure, joining the show in 1998. Barkley and O’Neal came on in 2000 and 2011, respectively, forming the nucleus that arguably reshaped sports television. The chemistry between the quartet is the best mix on sports television, something that the Sports Emmys have recognized with 21 overall awards.
Fox’s NFL Sunday is the most comparable show in the NFL, but despite big personalities like Michael Strahan and others, it didn’t quite hit the sports and pop culture zeitgeist as strongly as Inside the NBA did. (And this year, it loses longtime hosts Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson.) The combination of chemistry, basketball analysis, hot takes, memes, jokes, pranks, and sometimes disagreements has made it one of the more authentic shows on sports TV, which explains much of its appeal.
The show will continue from the same production studio in Atlanta, with the same producers, but will air on ESPN. This move is part of the fallout from TNT losing its broadcast rights to NBC, which will air the NBA again after 24 years. TNT was the NBA’s main broadcast partner from 1989 – 2025 and Inside the NBA was a major part of that.
“Even though the name changes, the engine stays the same,” O’Neal said on the last broadcast after the Pacers beat the Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals. “To that new network we’re coming to, we’re not coming to f— around. And since it’s the last show, I’ll say it: We’re not coming to f-ck around. We’re kicking ass, we’re taking names, we’re taking over.”
Barkley was wooed by other networks, but he ultimately decided to stay with Inside the NBA. He thanked TNT for the “wonderful ride.”
“I just want to say thank you to the NBA,” he said. “Every coach I’ve had, every player I’ve played with, for giving me this magnificent life that I’ve had,” he said. “I am so lucky and blessed. I’m lucky and blessed. And I want to thank TNT. Even though we’ll never say TNT Sports again, I want to thank TNT for giving me a magnificent life.”
And with that, Johnson signed off for the last time on TNT.
“I’m proud to say, for the last time, ‘Thanks for watching us. It’s the NBA on TNT.’”
You can watch the final broadcast above or relive some of the most memorable and funny on-air moments over the years below.
Fans Shares The Funniest ‘Inside the NBA’ Moments As Show Signs Off TNT For Last Time
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