SI

Charles Barkley Found Out About ESPN’s ‘Inside the NBA’ Deal From the Internet

Barkley claims that nobody from WBD has informed the ‘Inside the NBA’ crew of the future plan.

Jimmy Traina

Charles Barkley says Warner Bros. Discovery still hasn't told him about ESPN licensing deal for the fan-favorite studio show.
Charles Barkley says Warner Bros. Discovery still hasn't told him about ESPN licensing deal for the fan-favorite studio show. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

1. Charles Barkley will remain a Warner Bros. Discovery employee even after TNT loses the NBA following this season thanks to the deal that will see WBD license Inside the NBA to ESPN beginning in the 2025–26 season.

However, that won’t stop Barkley from calling out WBD management. Barkley hasn’t been shy about revealing his issues with WBD CEO David Zaslav. It seems that Barkley’s issues with the lack of communication at WBD, which he expressed earlier this year on SI Media With Jimmy Traina, haven’t be resolved.

Barkley recently revealed on podcast The Bettor Angle that nobody from WBD has formally informed him or the rest of the Inside the NBA crew about the licensing deal.

“I’ll tell you what’s fun: They haven’t even told us we lost the NBA yet,” Barkley said about WBD. “We have to hear it through the media. And even this thing with ABC/ESPN, I heard about it on the internet. What's really funny is Scott Van Pelt, Brian Windhorst, Elle Duncan, Bob Myers, who are all friends of mine who I really like a lot, they texted me welcoming me to the ESPN family. And I’m like, ‘What happened?’ TNT didn’t even have the courtesy to say, ‘Hey, we're gonna do the show.’ Basically we got traded. If I was going to trade somebody that I had respect for and appreciate, I would at least give them a heads-up. I wouldn’t let them hear about it from other people or the internet.”

While it would be beyond stunning if the WBD/ESPN deal didn’t go off without a hitch, there are some issues at the moment. Barkley clearly doesn’t love his bosses, Shaq isn’t currently under contract with WBD for the 2025–26 season and Kenny Smith said over the weekend that “there’s some things that need to be tied up.” But there are about 10 months left to get all those matters straightened out.

Somehow, we’re not sure the Barkley problem with WBD management will be solved, though. For nobody at the company to give the people with Inside the NBA a heads-up that TNT lost the NBA and then a licensing deal with ESPN has been struck, is a disgrace.

2. I really want to rename this column from “Traina Thoughts” to “What Are We Doing.”

Almost every day, I see and hear stuff that just makes me question what on earth is going on.

The latest example came on Sunday afternoon after the Bucs blew out the Giants. During Tampa Bay’s win, Baker Mayfield had a touchdown run and then did the Italian finger gesture that New York quarterback Tommy DeVito used for his celebration last season.

For some reason, this became the biggest news story in the world for one NFL reporter. One question about this nonsense would be too much, but she asked four. And seemed to get agitated when Mayfield wasn’t playing along with whatever she was trying to do. Just an embarrassing display.

3. NBC’s Mike Tirico called last night’s Eagles-Rams game while injured. The veteran broadcaster tore his Achilles last week.

The injury clearly did not affect Tirico, who had an excellent call on Saquon Barkley’s long touchdown (his second of the game) late in the fourth quarter.

4. Funniest moment of the football weekend: Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz, with his team up 39–20 against Mississippi State and just about a minute left in regulation, telling Bulldogs players to “Shut the f--- up or I’m gonna score.”

5. I’m just gonna 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 beginning 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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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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