With the final regular-season episode of Inside The NBA, the show prepares to bid farewell to TNT after a 35-year run.
Ernie Johnson, who has hosted Inside the NBA since 1990, paid tribute his TNT coworkers with a heartfelt speech.
‘I want to address all those folks who are watching but also want to do that by addressing,’ Johnson said as he acknowledged a crowd of his coworkers, ‘my friends.’
‘One of the most gratifying things about the whole process is this: We start the NBA on TNT back in 1989, and then we become synonymous with the league. For the fans out there, they think NBA, they think NBA on TNT. That’s why it hurts tonight – to know that’s gone after this next playoff run. …
‘But I will say this: No time for bitterness. It is time for appreciation. It’s time for gratitude. And it has been my pleasure to be one of your coworkers, one of your teammates, and a part of this family. Love you.’
Johnson’s studio partners also paid tribute to Johnson, leading to a standing ovation in his honor.
‘Me, Kenny and Shaq are the luckiest men in the world,’ Charles Barkley said. ‘But the person that makes it and is the reason that we call you the godfather, Ernie Johnson, you are the man.’
As Barkley’s words echoed, the crowd erupted into cheers, chanting ‘Ernie, Ernie’ in agreement with Barkley’s sentiment.
Although TNT will lose the broadcasting rights to the NBA, the popular show ‘Inside the NBA,’ featuring Johnson, Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith, will find a new home on ESPN next season. This follows the Walt Disney Company’s renewal of its 11-year NBA media rights deal, which will be effective from the 2025-26 season through the 2035-36 season. As a result of this agreement, Disney will become the primary media rights partner for the NBA.
When do the 2025 NBA Playoffs start?
The first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs starts on April 19. Here are the key dates for the playoffs:
April 15: NBA play-in tournament begins
April 19: NBA playoffs begin
May 5-6: Conference semifinals begin
May 20: Western conference finals begin
May 21: Eastern conference finals begin
June 5: NBA Finals begin