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Charles Barkley Shocked to Learn About ESPN’s ‘Inside the NBA’ Deal Online!

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By: Mike

Charles Barkley Found Out About ESPN’s ‘Inside the NBA’ Deal From the Internet
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1. Even though TNT will no longer broadcast NBA games after this season, Charles Barkley will continue his employment with Warner Bros. Discovery. This follows the arrangement for WBD to license Inside the NBA to ESPN starting in the 2025–26 season.

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Despite this, Barkley does not hesitate to criticize WBD leadership. He has openly voiced his dissatisfaction with WBD CEO David Zaslav, especially highlighting poor communication within the company, a concern he discussed earlier on SI Media With Jimmy Traina.

On a recent episode of The Bettor Angle podcast, Barkley disclosed that no one from WBD had officially informed him or his colleagues on Inside the NBA about the licensing agreement.

“It’s actually quite amusing: They haven’t even notified us that we’ve lost the NBA,” Barkley commented on WBD’s communication practices. “We found out through the media. And about the deal with ABC/ESPN, I learned through online. It’s ironic because colleagues like Scott Van Pelt, Brian Windhorst, Elle Duncan, Bob Myers, who are my friends, texted me to welcome me to the ESPN family. And I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ TNT didn’t even have the decency to inform us directly. It felt like we were just traded. If I were to trade someone I respected, I’d at least give them a heads-up, not let them find out through others or online.”

While it seems likely the WBD/ESPN deal will proceed smoothly, there are currently some tensions. Barkley’s discontent with his upper management is evident, Shaq has not yet signed a contract with WBD for the 2025–26 season, and Kenny Smith mentioned that some issues still need to be resolved. However, there is still about 10 months to address these concerns.

It is questionable whether the issues between Barkley and WBD management will be resolved soon. The failure to inform the Inside the NBA team about losing the NBA broadcast rights and the subsequent licensing deal with ESPN is considered highly disrespectful.

2. I’m tempted to change the name of this column from “Traina Thoughts” to “What Are We Doing.”

Every day, I encounter things that make me wonder what exactly is going on in the world.

A recent incident involved Baker Mayfield during Tampa Bay’s victory over the Giants. After scoring a touchdown, Mayfield mimicked the Italian finger gesture famously used by New York quarterback Tommy DeVito last season.

Surprisingly, this gesture became a major news story for one NFL reporter, who not only asked several unnecessary questions about it but also seemed frustrated when Mayfield did not engage in her line of questioning. It was quite an embarrassing moment.

3. Despite suffering a recent injury, NBC’s Mike Tirico managed to call the Eagles-Rams game last night. The veteran broadcaster had torn his Achilles the previous week.

Despite his injury, Tirico’s performance remained strong, especially during his call of Saquon Barkley’s impressive late-game touchdown.

4. The most humorous incident over the football weekend involved Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz. With his team leading Mississippi State 39–20 and just about a minute left in the game, he boldly told the opposing players to “Shut the f— up or I’m gonna score.”

5. I’ll just leave this here.

6. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features an interview with ESPN president Burke Magnus.

Magnus shares all the details behind the bombshell news that Warner Bros. Discovery will continue to produce Inside the NBA, but it will air on ESPN starting next season.

Magnus explains how the deal came about, why ESPN has zero intentions of changing anything about the show, when the show will air and why ESPN’s current NBA studio show, NBA Countdown, will continue next season.

Magnus also talks about ESPN’s plan for its lead NBA booth, why it’s not a lock that a third person will join Mike Breen and Doris Burke and what the network’s plan is for Hubie Brown, who will call his last game this season at 91 years old.

Other topics covered with Magnus include ESPN’s partnership with Pat McAfee, where contract negotiations stand with Stephen A. Smith, what role ESPN plays in getting an NFL game flexed, the SEC’s ratings dominance, Lee Corso’s future and much more.

Following Magnus, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss Netflix’s streaming issues for the Mike Tyson–Jake Paul fight and what it means for the NFL, Bluesky adding users who are not happy with Twitter 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: It’s Thanksgiving week, so here are a bunch of WWE wrestlers giving thanks back in 1989.

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.


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