Next year, after a quarter-century on TNT, Inside the NBA’s Charles Barkley will call it a day. The basketball star-turned-analyst intends to retire from his television career when the 2024–2025 NBA season ends.
Barkley announced his impending retirement after Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday, June 14 — and after weeks of chatter that TNT parent Warner Bros. Discovery might lose rights to NBA games to other media corporations.
“There’s been a lot of noise around our network the last few months. I just want to say, I talked to all the other networks, but I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT,” Barkley, who’s been with the cable network since 2000, said on NBA TV on Friday, per Deadline. “But I have made the decision myself, no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television.”
Charles Barkley, one of the Greatest TV Personalities we have ever seen, is retiring after next year,“I have talked to all the other networks, but I ain’t going no where other than TNT. I have made the decision myself….next year is going to be my last year on television.” pic.twitter.com/DzKlrftxgK— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) June 15, 2024
The former Philadelphia 76ers forward added: “I just want to say thank you to my NBA family. You guys have been great to me, my heart is full with joy and gratitude, but I’m going to pass the baton at the end of next year. I hope the NBA stays with TNT … I’m not going to another network, but I’m going to pass the baton to Jamal Crawford or Vince Carter or you, Steve [Smith], but next year, I’m just going to retire after 25 years.”
Barkley’s announcement could complicate Warner’s efforts to continue airing NBA games after its current contract with the basketball league expires after the 2024–2025 season. The league has been negotiating a new package of rights with NBCUniversal, Disney, and Amazon, while Warner has been hoping to land a fourth package of games and considering matching other companies’ bids, according to Variety.
In a SiriusXM interview in May, Barkley said that the media rights uncertainty “sucks right now” for his TNT colleagues. “I’m worried about all the people I work with,” the 11-time NBA All-Star said, per Deadline. “I just turned 61. I’ve got enough money.”
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