Posted in: NBA, Opinion, Sports, TNT, TV, TV | Tagged: Charles Barkley, David Zaslav, nba, warner bros discovery

Charles Barkley Retiring His TV Run After 2024-2025 NBA Season (VIDEO)

No matter what happens with Warner Bros. Discovery, Charles Barkley announced that he's retiring from TV after the 2024-2025 NBA season.

If you've been following what's been going on with the NBA and how it plans on carving up its television/streaming rights deals, then you know that NBA Legend & TNT's Inside The NBA co-host Charles Barkley has been brutally honest regarding his feelings about Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav and his leadership team have handled (or mishandled, as Barkley sees it) negotiations with the NBA. If WBD isn't able to carve out a deal of some kind, then the company not only says goodbye to the NBA beginning with the 2025-2026 season but also to one of the best coverage shows in all of professional sports – TNT's Inside The NBA with Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith. But now, Barkley has changed the conversation in a big way, announcing on Friday after Game 4 of the NBA Finals that he plans on retiring after the 2024-2025 season – whether or not WBD makes a deal.

"There's been a lot of noise around our network the last few months. I just want to say I talked to all the other networks, but I ain't going nowhere other than TNT. But I have made the decision myself, no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television," Barkley shared. "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, but I'm going to pass the baton at the end of next year. I hope the NBA stays with TNT … I'm not going to another network, but I'm going to pass the baton to Jamal Crawford or Vince Carter or you, Steve [Smith], but next year, I'm just going to retire after 25 years."

Of course, the thing about retiring is that you can always unretire. Maybe Barkley is looking to take a break from sports and try his hand at some other personal and professional opportunities. Maybe Barkley's recharging the batteries long enough to see how the NBA rights deals play out – we could definitely see the team reuniting for a more laidback (and better budgeted) NBC coverage show on a streaming service (a possibility that Barkley himself raised recently). But for now, it appears 2024-2025 will be Barkley's final season victory lap.

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