Dating back to when the agreement for ESPN to lease Inside the NBA from TNT Sports was first announced nearly a year ago, the Worldwide Leader would tell anyone who would listen that the beloved studio show would remain untouched.
And yet, there was still plenty of nervous anticipation attached to Wednesday’s debut, with many viewers fearing they’d be getting an ESPN-ified version of what had become the antithesis of the network’s offerings.
Never mind that the Disney-owned company had already shown a willingness not to bother The Pat McAfee Show for the last two years or that Inside the NBA is still ultimately a TNT Sports production. Between the underwhelming nature of ESPN’s NBA presentation and the quarter-century of equity that Charles Barkley and co. had built with its audience, it seemed perfectly fair to wonder whether the network would be willing to leave good — or in this instance, great — enough alone.
The verdict? ESPN stayed true to its word.
While we’re only roughly one hour into the Inside the NBA era on ESPN, it would be tough to argue that the show was any different in its first 60 minutes at the Worldwide Leader than it was during the previous 25 years on TNT. Other than an ESPN logo at the center of the desk, a noticeably slimmer Barkley and a brand new Popeyes sponsorship (which the show’s hosts eagerly addressed), this was very much the same studio show that NBA fans have become accustomed to spending their Thursday nights with.
Shaq: “That’s last year. Chuck was fat last year. Now look at him. He’s a sex symbol.” 🏀 📺🎙️ #NBA #ESPN #InsidetheNBA pic.twitter.com/Uu7aAfcPi5
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 22, 2025
Inside the NBA even opened the pregame show by addressing the elephant in the room directly, playing a montage of Barkley expressing his own concerns about life at ESPN. It didn’t seem coincidental that many of the clips shown came via The Dan Patrick Show, whose titular host hasn’t been shy to criticize his former employer over the years.
Sure, the segment was a bit self-involved (as Inside the NBA can often be), but it seemed clear the hosts were eager to prove that nothing about the show would be changing except for the channel it’s now airing on. From there, the rest of the pregame show was business as usual, with the trademark chemistry, humor and sometimes even analysis that has come to define it throughout its history. Even the music and graphics stayed the same.
That’s not to say we’re out of the woods just yet, as for all we know they’re saving a Stephen A. Smith appearance for the postgame edition (that seems unlikely, but hey, you never know). But for now, ESPN has even more evidence that it’s willing to leave its highest profile acquisitions alone, even if such concerns speak volumes about the lack of trust it’s built with its audience.
One hour in, so far, so good. Now the network finds itself facing a new challenge: bridging the gap between Wednesday and Christmas, a timeframe that will include just three more Inside the NBA nights until an increased post-holiday schedule.
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