After watching Charles Barkley dominate on the court for 16 years and then entertain on Inside the NBA for nearly three decades, one thing has never changed — the man has zero filter. Love him or hate him, Chuck says exactly what’s on his mind, and that unfiltered honesty is what fans keep coming back for. But during tonight’s Knicks vs. Pacers broadcast, that signature bluntness sparked more than just laughter. This time, it was his own TNT colleague, Kenny Smith, who seemed visibly annoyed by one of Barkley’s wilder takes — and he didn’t bother hiding it.

Well, the Inside the NBA crew was in attendance at MSG for tonight’s crucial Game 5. However, they did not have the most ideal seats to fully soak in the action. Turns out, their TNT set was very high up in the arena, almost touching the roof of the Mecca of Basketball. Sure enough, viewers at home began having some fun with it, as one tweeted, “They got the TNT crew doing the halftime show from inside the ventilation system in MSG.”

Chuck being Chuck, doubled down on the joke, claiming, “We higher than that brother. We up in the clouds. I could touch God right now. That’s my only chance I’m ever going to get to see him.” But Kenny quickly shut him down following his wild take on life after death, “Don’t say that.” Obviously, Kenny’s stern warning could not stop Barkley, as he added, “I’m going to hell… But I’m going to see a lot of y’all with me. Lot of y’all laughing at home, Imma see you.”

Meanwhile, Kenny sat there in disbelief, saying, “Damn!” Of course, the interaction was all in good fun and this is the kind of friendly banter and over the top humor viewers love about the legendary show. Good news is – Shaq has confirmed that it will continue even when Inside the NBA transitions from TNT to a different network.

Shaquille O’Neal claims Inside the NBA will continue to “kick a— and take names” after TNT departure

Once these playoffs come to a close, so will the Inside the NBA era on TNT. Because of NBA’s new media rights deal, the show will transition to ESPN and ABC starting next season. While fans are happy that the legendary show will continue, many fear that it will lose its essence after it departs from TNT. The crew might not get the same creative freedom they have had so far. But Shaquille O’Neal assured the fans that they have nothing to worry about.

“There’s an old saying ‘when something passes away, something is reborn.’ Yes, it is the ending of Inside the NBA on TNT, but it’s a new beginning for us. I’m glad we’re still together whatever network we go to. And whatever network we coming to, we bringing the pain.” He claimed during tonight’s broadcast.

Shutting down the buzz once and for all, Shaq added, “Just letting you know right now. I know everybody’s sad that it ain’t gonna be the show, the show is still here baby. You can never kill the Four Horsemen. We coming. And we coming to take spots, we coming to kick a–, and we coming to take names and we doing it our way.”

He continued, “All the sadness about that show, we coming with a whole brand new show and we don’t care who in our way. We coming to kick a– and take names. The name changes but the boys are here. We them boys. Don’t ever forget it.” Sure enough, the entire crew was hyped after Shaq’s emotional speech and they started yelling “WE THEM BOYS!” in unison. It was a welcome sight for viewers at home and now they cannot wait to see the revamped version of Inside the NBA, with the same faces and same entertaining unfiltered atmosphere. Do you agree?