Charles Barkley is making the most of this being Inside the NBA’s last season on TNT by repeatedly highlighting how awkward Inside the NBA’s last season on TNT is.

Barkley made at least two notable references Tuesday night. The best occurring during EJ’s “Neat-O Stat of the Night” segment with Ernie Johnson, where TNT comically notes the bit is sponsored by “no one.” While Johnson wore the badge proudly, boasting that he is “unsullied by sponsorships,” Barkley was quick to disagree.

“Man, they’ll sell anything around here. I mean hey, they sold us!” – Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/laWdhI6DXU

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 4, 2024

“Come on, Ernie. Get some sponsors,” Barkley said. “Man, they’ll sell anything around here. I mean hey, they sold us!”

That, of course, is a reference to the fact that Disney reached an agreement to license Inside the NBA from TNT Sports, putting Barkley, Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith on ESPN and ABC next season. It was Barkley’s second quip about Inside the NBA’s looming ESPN deal of the night. The first coming after Shaq proved he could still dunk during the show Tuesday night and asked to see the replay. Johnson then questioned how long it was taking for the highlight to be shown.

Shaq had to prove Kenny and Chuck wrong with the dunk 🤣 pic.twitter.com/24b4nP5s4O

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 4, 2024

“Do we have the replay?” Johnson asked. “Hold on, did this just happen in our studio and we don’t have the replay?”

“Listen Ernie, you know, times are tough around here,” Barkley said with a chuckle. “Hey, go to ESPN Deportes and watch the highlight.”

No, Inside the NBA isn’t going to ESPN Deportes, but they are going to ESPN. And while Barkley likes to joke about the awkwardness of this being their last season on TNT, NBA fans are grateful for the arrangement with ESPN. With Warner Bros. Discovery losing NBA rights for TNT after this season, it left the future of the best sports studio show in flux. But their surprising agreement to sell the show to ESPN should appease Barkley by keeping the behind-the-scenes cast intact, and it should definitely appease NBA fans by keeping the on-camera cast intact.

[Inside the NBA]