“To ESPN, it’s going to be an honor and a privilege to work for you guys…. you’ve got some tremendous talents over there, and I’m looking forward to co-working with those guys,” said Charles Barkley as Inside the NBA signed off one final time on TNT. With the NBA’s monumental 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal now official—bringing ESPN/ABC, NBC, and Amazon into the fold—Thursday marked the end of an era. After 35 unforgettable seasons, the beloved show aired its last segment on TNT, a moment fans had long dreaded.

Yet, in true Inside fashion, Shaquille O’Neal reminded everyone of the crew’s spirit: “Whatever network we’re coming to, we’re bringing the pain… The show is still here, baby. You can never kill the four horsemen.” Still, while ESPN may inherit the show’s talent, one prominent analyst cautioned that it may not replicate the same offbeat charm and unfiltered chemistry that made TNT’s version iconic.

On a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, the 55-year-old didn’t hold back when discussing Inside the NBA’s move to ESPN. Prompted by co-host Ryen Russillo, Simmons bluntly stated, “I think ESPN’s going to f— the show up.” It was a bold swipe at the network synonymous with American sports coverage for nearly five decades. But Simmons wasn’t just being incendiary—he followed it up with pointed concerns about how ESPN’s structure and style might clash with the freewheeling, unscripted brilliance that made TNT’s version of the show legendary.

“I don’t think they…. unless they completely change how they do commercials, the show is going to be different, and people are going to be pissed, and Barkley and those guys are going to be pissed, and I think it’s going to go badly,” said Simmons. “The only way it doesn’t go badly is if they do the commercials, and they give them the lengthy segments that you need to have that show work. They’re going to have to change how they do it. They just paid so much for the NBA, that if they don’t do that, and they do these same short terrible segments that you’re about to see in the finals, where it’s like a one and a half minute halftime, and it’s like a 20 minute pregame, they do that, they’re going to f— the show up, and everybody’s going to be mad”.

According to a recent report by Awful Announcing journalist Matt Yoder, ESPN has consistently said that they won’t change Inside the NBA, and that it will be the same show that has been keeping fans informed while simultaneously making them laugh through those Shaq pranks and Charles Barkley often being made the target of roasts. However, beyond that declaration, there isn’t much clarity on what Inside the NBA at ESPN will look like as part of ESPN’s NBA coverage.

Criticism about the commercials making the ESPN shows tough to watch isn’t anything new.

During Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals, the five individuals on ESPN’s set got only ‘one minute and twenty seconds’ of airtime. The commercials just kept on coming and coming, with the brief few seconds of analysis being taken up as nothing but a brief relief from those ads. After the 2nd quarter ended in Game 1, the ESPN on ABC broadcast went to commercial. When it came back, Mike Breen and JJ Redick reportedly did the ‘Gettin’ Buckets’ segment, with Redick focusing on Boston’s three-point shooting in the first half. That segment lasted for about 20 seconds. After cutting away to another commercial break, the on-site studio team got about a minute to share their thoughts.

Another commercial break followed, after which Josh Hart talked about moves Dallas can make against Celtics. The segment lasted roughly 20 seconds, with Hart talking for about half that time! The 3rd quarter had begun by the time Redick and Burke returned to give a brief commentary on the first half. That experience in itself would have been mortifying enough for fans to think about ‘Inside the NBA’ would thrive.

Bill Simmons can certainly speak from experience. After all, he was amongst the rotating cast of experts that, at one point in time, sat on the NBA Countdown set for ESPN before being replaced. Believe it or not, but one of Simmons’ biggest complaints, even back then, was that he did not get enough time to speak. Now, without getting that time to speak, combined with commercial breaks, is sure to make the analyst upset.

If their show is overrun by commercials, then the crew, especially Charles Barkley, would not take it well. After all, he was already on the fence about working for ESPN due to another major factor.

ESPN host revealed Charles Barkley being worried about getting overworked at the network

Charles Barkley, along with Shaquille O’Neal, were certainly not big fans of TNT losing the media rights. The Philadelphia 76ers legend did several interviews in which he urged the network to fight harder and to prevent the loss of hundreds of jobs associated with ‘Inside the NBA’. The show, now shifting to ESPN might not be what the crew wanted, but it is still a good compromise. That is, if they can manage to not give Charles Barkley too much work.

ESPN radio and former ‘Mike & Mike’ host Mike Greenberg were also among those who touched base on the crew’s shift in the days leading up to their final segment on TNT. During a podcast episode, he revealed that Barkley’s biggest concern was that he would be overworked with ESPN. Greenberg highlighted that Barkley was willing to come onto his show as a guest and talk sports, but also did not want to be pulled in many different directions, and have his whole day planned out. He wanted flexibility in his schedule that ESPN might not provide.

“Charles (Barkley), it has been my experience with him, he loves talking about sports,” Mike Greenberg said. “He does a ton of shows. I think what he doesn’t want is for it to be like ‘Okay, this is your schedule. You’re gonna do this show and then this show and then this show, this is what you’re gonna to do.’ I think that’s what he doesn’t want.”

Charles Barkley had often complained about ESPN’s work schedule during his tenure at TNT. Back in 2016, during an ‘Inside the NBA’ segment, Charles Barkley was asked how he would cover the news if he worked for ESPN. The former player replied, “Not gonna work me like a dog and not pay me”, which left others to control their laughter. He added, “They’ll have me on ESPN One, Two, Three, ESPN News, ESPNU, ESPN Radio! They’re gonna have me on ESPN Deportes saying ‘Muy Bien, Gracias!’”

The fact that Charles Barkley is going on ESPN even after having said all that is a miracle. With any luck, things work out between him and the crew. After all, ‘Inside the NBA’ wouldn’t be the same without them.