By Kahlil Haywood
Blavity
Reprinted – by Texas Metro News
https://blavity.com/
Basketball fans nationwide can finally let out a collective sigh of relief. Inside The NBA isn’t going anywhere. The legendary basketball pre and post-show is the best ever. Known for its comedy, many times more than for its game coverage, the chemistry on-screen is second to none. With this past summer’s bidding wars between streamers like Prime Video and other networks on television, TNT was left out in the cold. Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav exclaimed that they didn’t need the NBA. His ear clearly wasn’t to the streets.
After much uproar, WBD took to the courtrooms in the hopes of regaining some rights to the NBA’s coverage. That brief snafu led to an agreement that will still have WBD’s TNT Sports produce Inside The NBA, but it will be broadcasted on ESPN for featured game nights. None of us were ready for the tandem of Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Ernie Johnson Jr. to ride off into the sunset. Thankfully, this deal is mutually beneficial for all. ESPN has long been criticized for having an inferior game-day analysis show.
That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy the analytic stylings of Chiney Ogwumike, Kendrick Perkins and company. I actually do enjoy the chemistry that they have developed. But ESPN’s shortcoming in this regard is that they never allow their analysis shows to breathe. They’re clearly vehicles to further sell more ad space. But Inside The NBA‘s magic is in their format. Their show does get to breathe. Fans like myself will sit and watch that show, even if we missed the game. It’s truly its own entity. And with that, it enhances the game-watching experience. There’s an excitement that comes with turning to TNT for a basketball broadcast. It’s that excitement that ESPN will benefit from come next season.
With Inside the NBA now being a part of the Disney family, where does it leave its predecessor on ESPN you ask? Well Charles, Kenny and Shaq are only showing up for marquee match-ups. So that means big-time Saturday night games, playoffs, and now, finally, the NBA Finals. Besides that, ESPN will maintain its original ensemble for the other games. It’s a great compromise that, as far as I can see, is unprecedented. The beauty in it all is that it does lend itself to fan service.
We finally win, in a world where that’s not typically the case, we get Inside The NBA, in a fresh way. White stubbornness almost won out. So much for TNT not “needing” basketball. With this addition to ESPN, I can promise you, it’ll change the whole energy of the network. To think, it was almost the Fat Boys breaking up, now this. Shout out to cooler heads– and even cooler egos– prevailing.
