Five Best Moments From The Debut Of 'inside The Nba' On Espn

Basketball's astir celebrated workplace show, Inside nan NBA, made its triumphant return to tv connected Wednesday nighttime arsenic nan league's 2nd nighttime of regular-season action sewage underway.

Despite TNT and Turner Sports ending their NBA sum aft nan 2024-25 season, nan web has licensed nan authorities to nan programme to ESPN and ABC, allowing them to proceed airing nan celebrated programme starring Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.

Ahead of ESPN's sum of Cavaliers-Knicks from New York's Madison Square Garden, nan quartet officially made their debut connected nan Worldwide Leader. Here were nan 5 champion moments:

The 2025-26 NBA play officially began connected Tuesday nighttime with NBC airing its first master hoops game successful 23 years. "Roundball Rock" returned, Michael Jordan made an appearance—and yet O'Neal had to make it clear who's king successful nan NBA media world.

"You're expected to say, 'This is TRON... The Real Opening Night,'" he trim disconnected Johnson arsenic nan big introduced nan commencement of nan program. "The boys are backmost successful town. This is nan existent opening night. Yesterday was still preseason... don't get it twisted. The boys are back. We dem boys!"

Barkley, connected nan different hand, decided to play nice, saying that "NBC did a awesome occupation past night."

Charles Barkley admitted he was "nervous" for show's ESPN debut

Speaking of Barkley, he admitted that—despite being some a seasoned and a fable successful nan tv game—he was tense heading into Wednesday night.

"I gotta admit, I was tense each day..." said Barkley. "Every personification who's ever touched a (basketball) wanted to beryllium connected ESPN. They are nan top sports web ever. And to beryllium moving for these guys is an grant and a privilege. It is."

A beautiful cool infinitesimal of humility.

As Barkley admitted his nerves pinch nan crew, Smith trim him off—making nosy of him for sucking up to their caller employer:

"You want a napkin?" he asked. "Do you want a napkin for each that kissing up you're doing?"

The show past put up a clone schematic listing Barkley’s expected Thursday appearances, leaning into his earlier comments astir not letting ESPN “work him for illustration a dog.”

"I told y'all, it's an grant to activity for ESPN," Barkley repeated. "They not gonna activity maine for illustration a dog."

The unit couldn't judge really skinny Barkley is, acknowledgment to GLP-1s

While discussing their picks from past NBA season, Shaq took it upon himself to constituent retired really overmuch weight Chuck has mislaid since nan past clip they were connected nan air.

"That's past year," he said erstwhile Ernie pushed backmost connected 1 of his takes. "Chuck was fat past year. Now look astatine him. He's a activity symbol."

"Shoutout to my doctors astatine Ro.co," Barkley later said pinch a grin, referencing nan GLP-1 that he some uses and endorses. "I'm moving retired too, now. You've sewage to activity out. You can't conscionable return a shot."

Despite galore believing that nan shows' move to ESPN would forestall them from going disconnected nan rails—as they thin to do—Wednesday's debut proved that they'll proceed to stay authentic.

Here's a premier example:

Chuck besides took a changeable astatine Kawhi Leonard and his reported "no show" occupation pinch Aspiration, which has prompted an NBA investigation into imaginable net headdress circumvention by nan Clippers.

Needless to say, it's bully to person you back, Inside.

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