The tip-off of the 2025–26 NBA season didn’t just bring fresh matchups and championship hopes — it also marked the end of an era. After decades on TNT, the league’s new media rights deal officially closed the book on TNT’s NBA coverage. For fans, the biggest question wasn’t about games, though. It was about Inside the NBA.
Thankfully, the most iconic studio show in sports didn’t go anywhere.
Thanks to a licensing deal with Disney, Inside the NBA made the move to ESPN and ABC, with Turner Sports still producing the show and retaining full creative control. That means Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith are still together, still unfiltered, and still delivering the same chemistry fans have loved for years.
Despite early panic from some corners of the internet, the transition has been smooth. Same cast. Same producers. Same studio. The only real difference? The logo in the corner of the screen.
The biggest adjustment for the crew has been scheduling. Instead of airing weekly, Inside the NBA is now tied to marquee dates on the NBA calendar. The show already appeared for Opening Night and Christmas Day, with long breaks in between — including a six-week gap from mid-November to Christmas, and another brief hiatus until late January.
But Shaq isn’t worried. In fact, he loves it.
Speaking with Sports Illustrated during a promotional run for his new Shaq-A-Licious SLAMS gummy candy — a Hershey collaboration celebrating slam dunks, hoops, and pure big-kid energy — the Hall of Famer explained why the lighter early schedule works perfectly.
“I actually like it,” Shaq said. “When the playoffs start, you’re going to have the big dogs talking.”
Kenny Smith talks about some of his fav Shaq-monents from Inside the NBA
Shaq pointed out that the media landscape is more crowded than ever, with NBC returning to NBA coverage (and bringing back the legendary “Roundball Rock”), Amazon Prime streaming games multiple nights a week, and ESPN expanding its coverage. Everyone’s talking basketball — but when the games matter most, Shaq believes fans want the originals.
“When the playoffs start, you got to see the big dogs,” he said. “You got to see the boys.”
And he’s right.
More than half of Inside the NBA’s 20 announced regular-season air dates are scheduled for February and beyond, with the crew set to be front and center throughout the playoffs — including the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. Postseason dates will be announced later in the year, but one thing is clear: the spotlight is still theirs.
In a season full of media changes, Inside the NBA remains one of the league’s few constants. You’re just seeing the fellas a little less — and on a different channel — for now.
And if Shaq has his way, that just makes the moments when they show up hit even harder.