Luka Doncic isn’t ready to bid an official farewell to the “Inside the NBA” crew.
When the Mavericks’ star spoke to Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal on Thursday night after Dallas punched its ticket to the NBA Finals with a 124-103 win over the Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, Barkley said the group is “gonna miss” the five-time NBA All-Star as they enter a critical offseason with TNT on the verge of losing its league rights.
“We’re gonna miss you. We’re done after tonight,” Barkley told Doncic, who replied, “You ain’t done yet. We gotta figure something out.”
Johnson then weighed in, “We got all next year too. And then who knows after that.”
The comments come on the heels of a recent Sports Business Journal report that NBC is zeroing in on TNT’s “B” package for the league that would begin with the 2025-26 season, thus putting the future of “Inside the NBA” in jeopardy beyond next year.
Amazon and Disney are also said to be negotiating media rights with the league, with SBJ reporting NBC would take over TNT’s package for $2.6 billion a year if the deal moves forward.
It’s unclear if TNT has attempted to match an offer in hopes of retaining a package.
As the crew signed off Thursday, Barkley — who hasn’t shied away from ripping his bosses in the wake of the ordeal — did a double-take upon hearing Johnson close out the year.
“I cannot wait for next season. It’s going to be a blast,” Johnson said, with Barkley responding, “Did Ernie say a ‘blast’ or ‘last?’”
Johnson clarified, saying “it’s going to be a blast,” as Barkley erupted with laughter.
The scene illustrated Thursday was more light-hearted compared to a recent picture painted by The New York Times, in which Johnson and Smith were reportedly upset with a reporter seeking an interview with Barkley over the current state of affairs.
Smith apparently “voiced his irritation,” per the report, and said, “She should clear it through Turner. She should do it the right way.”
Barkley, who at one point told Smith, “Hey, man, I can talk to who I want to,” then expressed the importance of speaking out.
“It’s people’s lives,” Barkley told The New York Times of the situation. “Not my life. Not Ernie’s life. Not Kenny’s life. Not Shaq’s life. But all the people who work here. We probably have 100 people who do work on the show. So they’re, like, real people. I’ve seen their kids born, graduate high school, graduate college.”
The NBA Finals will air on ABC, with Game 1 between the Mavericks and Celtics tipping off in Boston on June 6 at 8:30 p.m.
It will be Doncic’s first NBA Finals appearance. He is averaging 28.8 points per game, 9.6 rebounds and 8.8 assists this postseason.
