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Charles Barkley: David Zaslav, WBD "Clowns" for How They Handled NBA

Inside The NBA's Charles Barkley didn't pull punches when it came to how Warner Bros. Discovery handled of its NBA deal and much more.

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"We don't have to have the NBA." Those were the words spoken by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav after the official merger of the company back in 2022 – confident in the broad array of sports programming that it had aat the time. Well, a lot has happened across the television landscape since then – especially in terms of rights to televise professional sports leagues. And now, it looks like Zaslav might just get a chance to put that 2022 theory to the test. Reports are that WBD is inching ever so closer to losing its NBA broadcasting rights for the 2025-2026 season – with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon seen to be the major players now. But Zaslav won't just be losing the NBA games – he will also be saying goodbye to one of the best coverage shows in all of professional sports – TNT's Inside The NBA with Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith.

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Image: TNT Screencap; The New York Times Screencap

Speaking with Dan Patrick on Patrick's show earlier today, Barkley didn't hold back when it came to sharing his thoughts on the matter. Referring to the company's top leaders as "fools" and the "clowns we work for," Barkley shared that things are going well behind the scenes with the folks who put the show together. "Morale sucks — plain and simple. I just feel so bad for the people I work with, Dan. These people have families, and I just really feel bad for them right now," he revealed. Adding fueling to Barkley's ire was the report earlier this week that TNT Sports will be licensing some College Football Playoff games from Disney's ESPN.

Though wondering why that money wasn't used toward securing a new NBA deal, Barkley added that he believes WBD is already preparing to lose the NBA and is looking to shore up its other sports programming. "I don't feel good, I'm not going to lie, especially when they came out yesterday and said we bought college football. I was like, 'Well damn, they could've used that money to buy the NBA,'" he explained. Where things got very interesting in the interview was when Patrick floated the idea of Barkley forming a production company with Barkley, Johnson, O'Neal, and Smith to create an Inside The NBA-like show that they could sell to a network or streamer that has NBA coverage. Barkley – who becomes a free agent and can field offers if TNT loses the NBA – shared that it was an option he was considering but is keeping it on hold until the dust settles on WBD and the NBA.

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Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
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