Charles Barkley makes another joke hinting at the end…

Charles Barkley makes another joke hinting at the end of 'Inside The NBA'

Charles Barkley just gave another sign to point towards the demise of "Inside The NBA."

On Sunday, May 19, after TNT had just aired Game 7 of the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves, Ernie Johnson was reminding fans of the schedule for the announcement of several NBA awards. One of them was the All-Rookie Team, which he said would be announced on Monday, 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

Barkley interjected, as usual, and joked that he would be busy at the time because he'd be doing some job searching.

"Wait, 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon? We're not doing that are we? Because I'm gonna be on LinkedIn," Barkley joked.

Charles Barkley once again jokes about Inside the NBA potentially coming to an end if TNT loses its broadcast rights to the NBA, which got some laughs out of Kenny Smith.

"Wait, 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon? We're not doing that are we? Because I'm gonna be on LinkedIn tomorrow… pic.twitter.com/4NHYuXplu0
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 20, 2024

The NBA legend who has become one of the all-time sports broadcasters alluded to the likelihood that "Inside The NBA" would fold amid the NBA's media rights negotiations. The Wall Street Journal first reported last month that Comcast's (CMCSA) NBC was making a bid worth $2.5 billion annually to acquire the NBA rights package that TNT's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) currently holds until the end of the 2024-25 NBA season.

Since then, multiple reports have surfaced that indicate that WBD is unlikely to keep the NBA. Barkley has confirmed that he will exercise his right to be a free agent starting the 2025-26 NBA season should WBD not maintain any NBA rights.

But any signs of the four-man crew of Barkley, Johnson, Kenny "The Jet" Smith, and Shaquille O'Neal continuing with another broadcaster have been essentially ruled out as Sports Business Journal reported that Johnson will be staying with TNT Sports regardless of what happens with the NBA.

More NBA media rights:

Barkley and O'Neal were present during WBD's Upfront last week, but did not make any jabs about the ongoing negotiation on stage.

TNT Sports CEO and Chairman Luis Silberwasser did allude to the negotiations, but didn't reveal much of anything.

“We’ve enjoyed a successful partnership with the NBA for 40 years, and look forward to another season and reaching an agreement that makes sense for all parties,” Silberwasser said.

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