NBA legend Charles Barkley has spent more than 25 years as one of the defining personalities on “Inside the NBA,” but the Basketball Hall of Famer has put a firm timeline on the end of his broadcasting career.
Appearing on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” on Friday, Barkley announced that he expects the 2026-27 NBA season to be his last on the show, with his decision tied directly to longtime host Ernie Johnson’s future, although Johnson has not publicly announced his retirement.
“Me and Ernie are a package deal,” Barkley said. “So right now, unless Ernie changes his mind, next year is my last year, 100 percent.”
Barkley explained that Johnson convinced him to remain for two more seasons after “Inside the NBA” moved from TNT to ESPN.
“Ernie said to me, ‘Chuck, would you please stay for two more years?’” Barkley said. “I said, ‘I love you, man. You’re the best. I’ll stay for two more years.’”
Barkley was initially planning to retire at 60, but Ernie convinced him to stay for two more seasons, only for him to find himself changing places from TNT to ESPN amid that two-year run, a process he discussed in the podcast.
“I told TNT I was going to retire at 60. And they were like, ‘Oh, he’s full of (expletive). He’s not gonna retire,'” Barkley recalled this week. “So we come up, I said, ‘Hey guys, it’s my last year.’ They’re like, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘I told y’all six years ago I was gonna retire at 60.’ They’re like, ‘ You were serious?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I was serious.’ Then they said to me, ‘Do us a favor. Stay two more years, ’til we get the new deal.’ I talked it over with my friends. I said, ‘OK, I’ll tell you what. I’ll stay ’til 62,’ which was last year. Little did I know these (expletive) idiots was gonna lose the NBA.”
Added Barkley: “The only reason I stayed is so everybody could keep their job behind the scenes.”
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The 63-year-old also confirmed that he met with NBC and Amazon after TNT lost its rights, with NBC offering him more money. Barkley instead stayed with the program he joined in 2000, joining ESPN with the rest of his co-hosts.
“I’m hoping the show keeps going on ESPN, but if Ernie retires after next season, I’m done,” Barkley said. “I have so much love and respect for that guy. If he says he’s done, I’m done.”
Barkley will return alongside Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith for the 2026-27 NBA season, which he currently plans to make his final year on “Inside the NBA.”
