Charles Barkley is planning on retiring following the 2026-27 NBA season.
“I’m looking forward to this last year,” Barkley, 63, told Alabama’s WFSA12 in a video shared Monday, September 28. “TV has been great to me. I’m going to take a step back from public life.”
Barkley has announced that the 2026-27 season will be his list on the hit show, “Inside the NBA,” with host Ernie Johnson and fellow analysts Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.
“It’s been a great run, been a great journey,” he continued. “I thank everybody for their support all these years, but I’ll be 64 years old and you know Ernie [Johnson] asked me to stay a couple more years and last year was one, this year is two, but I feel really good. It’s gonna be more like a celebration because I’ve had the greatest life a person could have.”
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But O’Neal isn’t buying it.
The legendary NBA star believes that this will not actually be Barkley’s final year on the air on “Inside the NBA.”
“I hope he gets fired on the first day,” O’Neal said after being asked on Front Office Sports Tonight if he believed Barkley.
O’Neal believes that Barkley will be back in 2027-28.
“No, Charles is like the big brother I never had,” O’Neal said. “He’s great. You know, Charles, Charles is, is, is, is, is really good at marketing… Once somebody taught Charles how to go viral, it was over. So, uh, do I believe it? No, I don’t believe it. But if it happens, it was a great run. Have fun. But I don’t believe that.”
Barkley has talked about retiring before, and he’s remained on the air, but he’s certainly making it sound like this will be his final season.
Time will tell if he’s telling the truth.
