1. I know I can’t expect sports fans to be rational. And I know that I can’t expect people on social media to do nuance. And I’m fully aware that in 2025, people just want to be outraged.
Given all that, I was still taken aback by the reaction to this season’s Inside the NBA schedule.
On Thursday, ESPN released the dates that Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal will grace our screens for the 2025–26 season.
One thing everyone should keep in mind is that the show will still be produced by TNT Sports, not by ESPN. ESPN’s only involvement is in airing the show. ESPN does not have a say in the creative aspect of the show. That will still be handled by TNT and emanate from the same Atlanta studio as always. But ESPN will carry the show on its network, so that leads to the scheduling of Inside the NBA.
The schedule that came out was inconsistent and filled with gaps. Naturally, people went after ESPN for “messing” with Inside the NBA.
I posted the schedule on social media and couldn’t believe the vitriol that came with it.
Here are the regular-season dates that “Inside the NBA” featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaq, will air on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/CFktSnVght
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) October 9, 2025
The truth, though, is that if it wasn’t for ESPN, we likely wouldn’t have Inside the NBA at all. The blame for Inside the NBA’s new normal should be directed at the NBA, not ESPN.
The NBA was the company that decided to ditch TNT and end a partnership that lasted 36 years. Once NBA dumped TNT for Amazon, we were never going to get the same exact Inside the NBA that we had for so many years. There had to be some change.
With TNT, things were simple. Ernie, Chuck, Kenny and Shaq would do their thing every Thursday night during the regular season. However, ESPN’s NBA schedule is different than TNT’s. The network gets a Wednesday night game and then a combination of Saturday/Sunday games later in the season after the NFL and college football seasons end.
The crew was never going to work twice a week during the regular season. So, ESPN has decided to mainly use Inside the NBA when its Saturday/Sunday game schedule picks up.
I get why people would be unhappy that we won’t see Inside the NBA from Nov. 12 until Dec. 25. And then not again until Jan. 24 but that's dictated by ESPN’s NBA schedule being backloaded.
NBA fans need to remember, though, that Inside the NBA could’ve been gone forever if ESPN didn’t pick it up. Maybe NBC or Amazon would’ve done the same, but would those companies keep the same exact cast? Would they still have TNT produce the show? Nobody knows. At least with this setup, we know the four cast members will be together and it’s being produced by the same company that has always produced the show.
One thing that fans can blame ESPN for is its absurd plan to have some Saturday night editions of Inside the NBA move to ESPN’s app when its time to go to local news.
The post-game show is expected be the same length, but when the post-game is on ABC on Saturdays if it keeps going after local news begins, it will continue on the ESPN app. https://t.co/NtCpBuw2Tm
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) October 9, 2025
I don’t want to speak for everyone, but as much as I love Inside the NBA, I can tell you that I will never ever fire up ESPN’s app to watch the remaining moments of the show. ESPN has a slew of linear channels. It should at least put the postgame on one of those channels in addition to the app.
2. Tough break for the NBA’s newest broadcast partners. LeBron James is expected to miss the start of the season with sciatica.
NBC is slated to air the Lakers against the Warriors on opening night, Tuesday, Oct. 21, while Amazon Prime’s first-ever night airing the NBA, Friday, Oct. 24, will feature the Timberwolves at the Lakers.
3. It’s still hard to believe what happened at the end of Thursday’s Phillies-Dodgers game. Here’s how the surreal error by pitcher Orion Kerkering sounded on local Phillies radio.
The Phillies are eliminated on a walk-off error, as called by Phillies radio… pic.twitter.com/1JKemY3TTy
— Rich MacLeod (@richmacleod) October 10, 2025
And while the moment was heartbreaking, this was a tremendous camera shot that captured the madness.
The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. pic.twitter.com/rJ4YGeyOX4
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 10, 2025
4. This is great. Kirk Herbstreit has revealed that he’ll be trying to work in some lingo used by his kids during games this season. He got things under way during Thursday’s Eagles-Giants game.
My 4 boys, all 19-25, challenged me over the summer to slide a couple terms in every once in awhile.
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) October 10, 2025
“Aura farming” “it’s not that deep” “rage baiting” and “chalked”. Told em I’ll try Chalked if it applies. It applied last night late in the 4th Q 🤣🤣
5. What. A. Stat.
The Browns are currently paying EIGHT QBs.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 9, 2025
• Deshaun Watson, $35.9M
• Jameis Winston, $2.2M
• Dillon Gabriel, $1.1M
• Joe Flacco, $999K
• Shedeur Sanders, $955K
• Bailey Zappe, $315K
• Dorian Thompson-Robinson, $171K
• Kenny Pickett, $8K
(via @spotrac) pic.twitter.com/qoOsqbDYsS
6. This week’s episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with ESPN's Ryan Ruocco.
Ruocco talks about calling the WNBA Finals, the constant off-the-court attention that the WNBA receives, controversies involving the refs and the commissioner, Caitlin Clark’s impact, ratings and scheduling the Finals against NFL action.
In addition, Ruocco talks about calling fewer Yankees games but more Nets games for YES Network, being in the mix for the Yankees radio job after John Sterling retired, what he loves about calling NBA games for ESPN and much more.
Following Ruocco, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss the Major League Baseball playoffs, the performance of Fox play-by-play guy Eric Collins during last week’s Dolphins-Panthers game, Hulu canceling its show about North Carolina football and how Bill Belichick has tarnished his legacy, the Mark Sanchez arrest, a ridiculous betting loss, current movies and more
You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I showed this video to a friend of mine the other day and he had never seen it, which stunned me. So I’m posting it today just in case you have never enjoyed this wonderful local news fight.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fan Reaction to ESPN’s Inconsistent ‘Inside the NBA’ Schedule Is Off Base.
