Inside the NBA | |
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Presented by | Ernie Johnson Jr. |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United States |
Production | |
Running time | 30–60 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | |
Release | November 4, 1989 – present |
Inside the NBA, branded for sponsorship purposes as Inside the NBA presented by Kia , is the halftime and postgame studio show for NBA on TNT broadcasts. The has been hosted since 1990 by Ernie Johnson, joined on set by three analysts: Kenny Smith (since 1998), Charles Barkley (since 2000), and Shaquille O'Neal (since 2011). Notable former analysts have included Magic Johnson (2003–2007), Reggie Miller (2008–2011), and Chris Webber (2008–2011). Since the early 2000s, the show has consistently been rated as among the best sports analysis shows on American television, and over its history has won nineteen Sports Emmy Awards.
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Inside the NBA debuted after TNT acquired the rights to broadcast NBA games during the 1989–90 season. In its first season, there were no permanent hosts or analysts. Craig Sager, Hannah Storm, Vince Cellini, Tim Brando and Fred Hickman shared hosting duties at various points of the season. In the following season, Ernie Johnson Jr., formerly a sideline reporter, took over as the show's full-time host, a role he retains to this day.
Initially, Inside the NBA focused on recaps of the day's games. Occasionally, Johnson invited a former or current NBA player or coach to sit in as a guest analyst. Kenny Smith joined Johnson full-time in 1998.
Newly-retired former NBA All-Star Charles Barkley joined TNT in 2000 and became notorious for his bold, and at times controversial, statements on the air.
In late 2002, Barkley told Kenny Smith that he would "kiss [his] ass" if Houston Rockets then-rookie Yao Ming scored 19 points in a game, [1] which was followed by Yao doing exactly that later that week. As a result, on Listen Up! With Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson that Thursday, Barkley kissed the rear end of a donkey that Smith brought into the studio. In 2002, a controversial Sports Illustrated cover, in which Barkley was portrayed in chains (as a slave), [2] led to a debate between Smith and Barkley about the merits of the cover. [3]
During the 2000s, TNT added a third analyst alongside Smith and Barkley. Hall of Famer Magic Johnson served as the third analyst between 2003 and 2007, and Reggie Miller and Chris Webber split the role between 2008 and 2011.
Before the 2011–12 season, TNT hired Shaquille O'Neal as a studio analyst. O'Neal's addition led Inside the NBA to add the Shaqtin' a Fool segment, featuring bloopers from around the league.
During the 2020, 2021, and 2024 playoffs, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green made occasional appearances on Inside the NBA. In 2022, Green was added to TNT's analyst roster, and would contribute occasionally on the show while still an active player.
The popularity of the program has led the NBA to air reruns of the show (as well as reruns of other TNT NBA studio programs, NBA Tip-Off, the American Express Halftime Report and Game Break) on the TNT Overtime on NBA.com. Analysts from the show, with the notable exception of Barkley, have been featured in the popular NBA 2K video game series beginning with NBA 2K15 . Beginning in 2011, the team has also covered the NCAA men's basketball tournament as CBS began partnering with Turner for NCAA March Madness .
During the 2021–22 season, Inside the NBA aired after TNT Tuesday games during the NFL regular season and on Thursday nights once football season ends. TNT moved its marquee games to Tuesday in the fall and early winter in order to avoid competition with Thursday Night Football. The postgame shows after TNT Tuesday games, beginning in January, were rebranded as the NBA on TNT Postgame Show, with Adam Lefkoe as host and analysts O'Neal, Candace Parker and Dwyane Wade.
Wade decided not to return to NBA on TNT coverage for the 2022–23 season, choosing to focus on other business interests. [4] Jamal Crawford replaced Wade as an analyst on NBA on TNT Tuesdays. [5]
Prior to the 2022–23 season, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports announced contract renewals for all four of the main Inside the NBA panelists, including a 10-year extension for Barkley that he called "a life-altering deal". [6]
On July 24, 2024, the NBA announced new 11-year broadcasting agreements with ABC/ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video. [7] [8] [9] [10] TNT parent company Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) attempted to use its backend rights to match the offer made by Amazon, but it was rejected on the basis that WBD did not match the terms offered by Amazon. [11] [12] On July 26, WBD filed its lawsuit against the league in New York state court, seeking to delay the NBA's new 2025 media deals from taking effect and to rule that TNT's offer matched Amazon's deal. [13] On November 18, WBD announced a settlement with the NBA, allowing TNT to retain its domestic non-game rights and obtain international game rights. In a separate sublicensing agreement with the Walt Disney Company, TNT Sports will continue production of Inside the NBA with broadcasting rights moving to ESPN and ABC beginning in the 2025–26 season. [14] [15] [16] [17]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(April 2022) |
"Shaqtin' a Fool" is a blooper segment started by O'Neal when he joined the show in 2012 that has become popular since. Frequent nominees include JaVale McGee, Kendrick Perkins, Nick Young, Otto Porter, Brandon Knight and Jordan Poole, although even All-Stars like LeBron James, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Andre Drummond and Russell Westbrook have been featured.
"Area 21" was a segment hosted by Kevin Garnett, who joined the show following his retirement before the 2016–17 season. Noted for being more informal and by the presence of a "cuss button" for when Garnett or a guest wants to swear, which has sometimes been left unused.
"EJ's Neat-O Stat of the Night" is the traditional ending segment, sometimes noted for its lack of continued sponsorship ("Presented by NO ONE – Unsullied by sponsorship since 1989"), although Dave & Buster's, Taco Bell, Jim Beam, CarMax, JBL, HP, and EA Sports have sponsored it in the past. It can sometimes feature interesting or humorous stats, but the segment is sometimes used for a comedy sketch. Malika Andrews borrowed the name while appearing on Tip-Off part of the Inside collaboration with NBA Countdown during the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals and received Johnson's blessing to use the name. [18]
"Who He Play For?" is a start-of-season customary game where Barkley is challenged to name the new teams of a number of NBA journeymen who, perhaps (un)notably, switched teams in the offseason. Stephen A. Smith also played it while appearing on the show as part of the Inside collaboration with NBA Countdown during the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals. [19]
"Audio Toons" are old conversations and past events, animated by Cartoon Network.
"Players Only" was the name given to the Monday edition between 2017 and 2019, reserved for players-turned-analysts such as Webber, O'Neal, Garnett, Isiah Thomas, Chris Bosh and Baron Davis. WNBA players such as Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker would sit in as analysts for these broadcasts.
"Gone Fishin" is a segment aired whenever a team is knocked out of the playoffs (or a team failed to make the playoffs), and is usually accompanied by doctored photos of players on the team, and notable figures from the team's home city, on fishing boats with analyst Kenny Smith. It has its roots in the 1990s; when the Suns had a chance to eliminate a team, their gorilla mascot would hold a fishing pole to indicate the opponents would be "gone fishin'".[ citation needed ] The catchphrase has its own page on NBA.com [20] and has also become a metaphor for being eliminated from the playoffs. MLB on TBS uses a similar phrase for when a team gets knocked out of the postseason, called "Gone Huntin", as most North American hunting seasons occur in mid-to-late fall. [21] The NHL on TNT uses a similar phrase for when a team gets knocked out of the postseason, called "Gone Golfin'", as most North American's golfing occur in early-to-late summer.
Some segments of Inside have become famous and are sometimes referenced in callbacks on other episodes, or in other media.
While filling in for an injured Steve Kerr on a Los Angeles Lakers-Sacramento Kings broadcast, [22] Charles Barkley made disparaging comments about the age of referee Dick Bavetta. [23] The conversation between Barkley and play-by-play man Marv Albert eventually led him to comment that he could outrun Bavetta, and any other man of his age (Bavetta was 67 at the time).
This led Johnson and Smith to note that Bavetta, a physically fit referee whose job required him to run up and down the court on a nightly basis, would likely beat Barkley (who had become woefully out of shape compared to his playing career) in a race. Bavetta challenged Barkley to a footrace, which was then scheduled for the upcoming 2007 All-Star Weekend.
The race was heavily hyped on the Internet, receiving some mainstream attention as well. Several NBA players weighed in with predictions, and the overwhelming majority picked Bavetta to win the race. [24] [25]
Despite being the underdog, Barkley won the race by a comfortable margin. Both men ended up falling after the race; Bavetta dove for the finish line, and Barkley stumbled backwards and fell upon victory. With the race decided, the two exchanged a friendly hug and kiss. The race raised $50,000 for charity, and All-Star Saturday Night on TNT drew its highest number of television households in its twenty-two-year history. [26]
During the 2007 NBA Playoffs, following the Golden State Warriors' upset of the Dallas Mavericks, Barkley made some degrading comments about Oakland, California, saying things such as "it makes me mad, mad that they're in Golden State and not LA" and "it's not a city". In response, the scoreboard at the Oracle Arena began showing a graphic of the Warriors' mascot throwing a pie at Barkley.
Oakland native and NBA legend Gary Payton, in his trademark competitive, trash-talking style, went around Oakland with a video camera to rebuke some of Barkley's comments and get some of the locals' opinions on Barkley and his comments, with Payton providing some of his own comments about "Sir Charles" and providing quips such as "It ain't no thrift store, it's Oakland". The humorous segment, which also included embarrassing vintage coverage of Barkley being dunked on in a game against Golden State, aired during Inside the NBA's playoff coverage of the series between the Warriors and the Utah Jazz. The clip culminated with a shot of Payton standing in front of the San Francisco Bay saying "How do you feel about my city now, Chuck? ... Now, come see me, in person, here. I've got a surprise for you, too, a lot of Krispy Kreme donuts." [27] The humorous controversy was subsequently put to rest.
In response to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted Game 5 of their series against the Orlando Magic on August 26. [28] Later that day, the NBA announced that in light of the Bucks' decision, all games for the day were postponed. In support for the players boycott, Kenny Smith walked out of the set while the show was aired live. “I think the biggest thing now — as a Black man and a former player — I think it’s best for me to not be here tonight,” Smith said. [29]
Ahead of the knockout stage of the 2023 (inaugural) NBA In-Season Tournament, it was announced that TNT and ESPN would collaborate on coverage involving both their commentary and their pregame and postgame coverage. As part of this, the Inside cast collaborated with their professional counterparts from NBA Countdown – Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon, Bob Myers and Adrian Wojnarowski – involving Johnson, Kenny Smith, Barkley and O'Neal appearing on Countdown while Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Wilbon and Myers also appeared on Tip-Off and Stephen A. Smith and Wilbon appeared on Inside. [30] [31]
Countdown cast members featured in a number of traditional Inside recurring segments as a result:
Inside, since Barkley joined the show during the 2000–01 season, has become a particularly popular show due to its combination of league highlights with unscripted banter among the panelists. Bill Simmons of ESPN.com wrote in May 2002, when Johnson, Smith, and Barkley made up the core panel, that Inside was "the greatest TV studio show I've seen." Simmons observed, "A postgame show that occasionally improves on the ratings from the actual game? How rare is that?" [33] In 2014, the New York Times described Inside as "one of the most freewheeling, unpredictable and funny talk shows on television." The "On Comedy" columnist described O'Neal as the "weak link" but generally praised the interplay between the panelists in ways that often veer far from discussions of basketball games. [34]
Commentators have praised Inside the NBA for its panelists' willingness to have serious conversations when circumstances demand them. The panel's comments about the 2016 presidential election, particularly Johnson's, were praised in national media. [35] [36] Kenny Smith's solidarity with social justice protests in 2020 was described as "impactful" by a columnist for Sportscasting. [37] "The outpouring of well wishes for Johnson and his family has shown that there may not be a more beloved person in sports media," wrote Jimmy Traina in Sports Illustrated in an article about the panel's public support for Johnson on Inside after his son Michael died. [38] Johnson used his Twitter account and his appearance on Inside the following week to gratefully acknowledge the support he received from his coworkers and from the public. [39]
As of 2024, the show has won nineteen Sports Emmy Awards. Six times for the best daily show (2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014), six times for the best weekly show (2012, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022), five times for the best weekly show – limited run : playoffs (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024), one for the best decoration and art visuals (2016) and one for the best social TV experience (2019). Johnson has also won seven awards as a studio host (2001, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024) and Barkley has won five as a studio analyst (2011, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024).
Inside was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in October 2016, becoming the 12th program to receive the honor and the third sports show after SportsCenter and Monday Night Football . [40] They were also honoree by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020, becoming the first NBA telecast to win the Curt Gowdy Media Award.
Outside the NBA is a show on Facebook Watch that debuted on October 20, 2017. The same panel as on Inside talks about subjects outside of the NBA. [41]
TNT aired The Inside Story, a four-part miniseries documenting Inside the NBA, during the NBA All-Star Break in March 2021. Each episode focused on one core panelist. [42] The miniseries was nominated for a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary Series at the 43rd Sports Emmy Awards. [43]
The Steam Room is a video podcast hosted on YouTube starring Johnson and Barkley, named after a running joke from Inside. The podcast primarily consists of interviews and interactions with celebrities that are friends of Barkley and Johnson, sports media personalities, former NBA legends, comedians, and staff members. [44]
The current theme song, composed by former guitarist of the progressive rock band Yes, Trevor Rabin, has been used since the 2002–2003 season. [45]
Charles Wade Barkley is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Though shorter than the typical power forward, he used his strength and aggression to become one of the NBA's best rebounders and scorers. Barkley was an 11-time NBA All-Star, 11-time member of the All-NBA Team, and the 1993 Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.
NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through TNT Sports. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular season and playoff game broadcasts from the NBA and related professional basketball leagues, as well as NBA-related content including analysis programs, specials and documentaries. The network is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The network also serves as the national broadcaster of the NBA G League and WNBA games. NBA TV is the oldest subscription network in North America to be owned or controlled by a professional sports league, having launched on November 2, 1999.
Kenneth Smith, is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Jet", he played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and Denver Nuggets. Smith won back-to-back NBA championships with Houston.
Ernest Thorwald Johnson Jr. is an American sportscaster for TNT Sports. He is the television voice and a studio host for Major League Baseball on TBS, hosts Inside the NBA for TNT and NBA TV, and contributes to the joint coverage of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for TNT Sports and CBS Sports. His father was Ernie Johnson Sr., a Major League Baseball pitcher and Atlanta Braves play-by-play announcer.
Richard W. Bavetta is an American retired professional basketball referee for the National Basketball Association (NBA). He debuted in the league in 1975 and never missed an assigned game until 2014, and he holds the league record for most officiated games with 2,635.
NBA on TNT is an American presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games, produced by TNT Sports. In the United States, the TNT cable network has held the rights to broadcast NBA games since 1989, making it TNT's longest-running regular program and sporting event, dating back to only a year after TNT's launch on October 3, 1988. Its telecasts have also been streamed on its Max platform since 2023. TNT's NBA coverage includes the Inside the NBA studio show, weekly doubleheaders throughout the regular season on Tuesdays and Thursdays, a majority of games during the first two rounds of the playoffs, and one conference finals series.
NBA Countdown, branded for sponsorship purposes as NBA Countdown Presented by DraftKings Sportsbook for ESPN editions and NBA Countdown Delivered by Papa John's for ABC editions respectively, is a pregame television show airing prior to National Basketball Association (NBA) telecasts on ABC and ESPN. The networks have aired NBA games since 2002. Typically, the program airs 30 or 60 minutes prior to the game. ESPN2 or another ESPN network may also be used as an overflow channel for the show.
The NBA on ESPN is the branding used for the presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games on the ESPN family of networks. The ESPN cable network first televised NBA games from 1982 until 1984, and has been airing games currently since the 2002–03 NBA season. ESPN2 began airing a limited schedule of NBA games in 2002. ABC began televising NBA games under full ESPN production in 2006. On October 6, 2014, ESPN and the NBA renewed their agreement through 2025, and on July 24, 2024, its agreement was renewed through 2036.
From 2006 to 2008, NBC's studio show was originally broadcast out of the rink at New York's Rockefeller Center, at the foot of NBC's offices during January and February. This allowed the on-air talent, including commentators for NHL on NBC, and their guests to demonstrate plays and hockey skills. From April onwards, and during inclement weather, the studio show moved to Studio 8G inside the GE Building, where NBC produces its Football Night in America program. For the Stanley Cup Finals, the show was usually broadcast on location.
The 28th Sports Emmy Awards honoring American sports coverage in 2006 were presented on April 30, 2007 at Frederick P. Rose Hall in the Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City. The nominees were announced on March 22.
NBA Gametime is the flagship program of NBA TV. The show began airing on October 30, 2008.
TNT Sports has occasionally televised college football games on its networks since 1982; that year, under an agreement with the NCAA, TBS became the first broadcaster to nationally televise college football on cable. After the NCAA broadcasting package was dismantled in 1984 following a Supreme Court ruling, TBS would broadcast SEC football from 1984 to 1992, along with selected bowl games through 2000.
NCAA March Madness is the branding used for coverage of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament that is jointly produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network, and TNT Sports, the national sports division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) in the United States. Through the agreement between CBS and WBD, which began with the 2011 tournament, games are televised on CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV. CBS Sports Network has re-aired games from all networks.
Shaqtin' a Fool is a weekly segment from the television show Inside the NBA, the postgame show of NBA on TNT following the conclusion of National Basketball Association (NBA) games airing on cable TV channel TNT. The title is a play on "actin' a fool." It first aired during the 2011–12 NBA season, when retired NBA All-Star Shaquille O'Neal voiced it upon joining the show and was created by Turner Sports producer Mike Goldfarb. Shaqtin' highlights humorous and uncommon basketball plays that have occurred during NBA games in the past week. O'Neal is the host and presenter, while the other analysts in studio react and provide commentary. Most often, those have been fellow Inside regulars Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley, but other Inside hosts have also participated, including Chris Webber, Grant Hill, Steve Smith, Kevin Garnett and Matt Winer. Since 2018, the Shaqtin franchise has been led by Turner Sports producer Michael Kaplan.
Upon expiration of the contract in 2002, the league signed an agreement with ABC, which began airing games in the 2002-03 season. NBC had made a four-year $1.3 billion bid in the spring of 2002 to renew its NBA rights, but the league instead went to ESPN and ABC with a six-year deal worth $2.4 billion, a total of $4.6 billion when adding the cable deal with Turner Sports.
The NHL on TNT is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by TNT Sports, and televised on TNT and streamed on Max in the United States.
NBC Sports's deal with the National Hockey League for U.S. television rights ran through the 2020–21 season, and was replaced in 2021–22 by seven-year agreements with ESPN and TNT to split coverage.