Legendary NBA Analyst Announces Retirement From Broadcasting After 25 Years

Basketball Hall of Fame member Charles Barkley announced he will be retiring from television after the 2024-25 NBA season.

Barkley has become one of the most beloved sports analysts in America due to his blunt and oftentimes hilarious takes on “Inside The NBA.” The popular program — which Barkley co-hosts with Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Johnson and fellow NBA veterans Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal — is set to end after next season when Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) media rights deal with the NBA expires.

The media rights shakeup has led to massive uncertainty over the popular program, which Barkley has been a staple of since 2000. Johnson had already announced that he will be sticking with TNT due to the loyalty the company has shown him, and Barkley now appears to be in the same boat.

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“I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT. But I have made the decision that no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television,” Barkley said on NBATV after game four of the NBA Finals on Friday. “And I just want to say thank you to my NBA family. You guys have been great to me. My heart is full with joy and gratitude.”

A new NBA arraignment between networks and the league, which is expected to continue its relationship with ESPN through a separate package, will be announced in the coming weeks.

“I hope the NBA stays with TNT, but for me personally, I wanted you guys to hear it from me,” Barkley said during Friday’s telecast. “I wanted to tell my NBATV and TNT family that I’m not going to another network, but I’m going to pass the baton to either Jamal Crawford or Vince Carter or you Steve (Smith).”

“But next year, I’m going to just retire after 25 years, and I just wanted to say thank you. And I wanted y’all to hear it from me first.”

Barkley has become a staple of NBA coverage since he first joined TNT in 2000 after the conclusion of his Hall of Fame playing career.

“Charles is a Hall of Famer and broadcasting icon who is and will always be a beloved member of the TNT Sports family,” said a TNT Sports spokesperson in a statement to CNN. “We’re looking forward to another fantastic NBA on TNT season and further discussion of our future plans with him.”

In his more than two-decade career as an analyst, Barkley has received four Sports Emmys and has been inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

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