In recent weeks, there has been considerable concern from NBA fans regarding the iconic pregame and postgame show, Inside the NBA, which airs on TNT Tuesdays and Thursdays during the regular season and on many more days than that during the NBA playoffs. Inside the NBA's future has been in question due to the fact that the NBA is currently considering ditching Turner (TNT) for a return to NBC Sports, which could lead to a disbandment of the quartet of Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith that fans have come to love over the years.
However, not all hope is lost on that front. Recently, Adam Lefkoe, who hosts Inside the NBA on Tuesdays, stopped by the Dan Patrick Show and shared an optimistic update for the future of the program.
“I was sitting in the makeup chair yesterday getting ready for a show on True TV and some of the higher up people were there and, they just said listen, it's not over, we're still talking to them,” said Lefkoe, via the Dan Patrick Show on YouTube. “I mean you still have Zaslav talking to Adam Silver, they're still really, really trying, that's what I'm being told.”
Lefkoe added more context to his assertion.
“I think that, you know, very early on I tried to remove a lot of my emotion from this and part of it was I was talking to my agent and he said, I don't think people realize that if another network is going to do this, first of all TNT Sports can match, but they need to get all of the paperwork done before there's a match,” said Lefkoe. “That's when my brain went oh I don't think lawyers have ever rushed through paperwork and gotten rid of billable hours so that that TNT can match really quick.”
Lefkoe went on to criticize some of the reporting that's been done about the show.
“What I thought has been funny this entire time has been all of these reports where it's done, and then the new media cycle right now of, there's a sources and then that turns into an image of the Inside guys with the text that says ‘it's over’ and there's no context and there's no reporting and it just snowballs really quickly,” said Lefkoe.
A potential change
Over the years, Inside The NBA has gained a reputation as being a basketball show that could not be less concerned with basketball. A quick listen to “analysis” from Barkley or O'Neal often reveals the two big men cannot be bothered to watch much of any regular season NBA basketball these days, a fact that the show actively mocks in the segment “Who He Play For?”
Instead, much of the draw is from watching these former stars parody themselves and participate in silly gimmicks in an effort to draw laughs, a strategy that has worked out well for the tandem over the course of multiple decades.
In any case, regardless of what happens, the show will have at least one more full season on the air.
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