‘Inside the NBA’ Memories: From ‘SNL’ Parodies to Cookie Savings, the Series Left Its Mark
Since 1989, “Inside the NBA” has been a constant in the ever-changing NBA broadcast landscape.
The league has gone from airing the NBA Finals on CBS when “Inside the NBA” debuted, to NBC in the ’90s and early 2000s, to ESPN and ABC over the past two decades. Along the way, former players Kenny Smith (1998), Charles Barkley (2000) and Shaquille O’Neal (2011) have joined Ernie Johnson on his postgame set to create a televised get-together for many basketball fans.
But the reality is the 2024-25 season will likely be the last for “Inside the NBA” in its current form after the league announced new TV rights deals with ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday, declining TNT Sports’ right to air the game.
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There may be attempts to duplicate the model and success of “Inside the NBA,” but as other networks have shown, there is no comparison. The combination of remarkable games and personalities, time and space has made the show much more than a top-notch sports program.
To celebrate this, The Athletics Series staffers have collected some of our favorite moments and memories from the series’ past three decades.
Barkley plays the role of… Shaq?
I’m a huge fan of “Saturday Night Live” and I was very happy when I saw “SNL” focus on one of my other shows, starting in 2009 when Will Ferrell hosted the season finale.
Kenan Thompson did a couple of Barkley impressions, but Bill Hader added a Johnson impression for a parody on “Inside the NBA.” Barkley has hosted “SNL” four times, but few things capture the crossover appeal of “Inside the NBA” more than his appearance in January 2012, shortly after the NBA lockout ended. Thompson played Barkley, Hader played Johnson, Jay Pharoah played Smith, and Barkley played … O’Neal. — Murray’s Law
Caught in the cookie jar
This was the night I fell in love with “Inside the NBA.” Reggie Evans grabbed Chris Kaman’s dick, Johnson said Evans got his hand in the cookie jar, and Barkley couldn’t stop laughing when he asked Johnson where he usually kept his cookies. Of course I lost it too, even though I had to sleep in for an exam the next day.
No one appreciates the entertainment value of the NBA like this team, and I enjoy the NBA most when I get to experience it with them. — Sabreena Trader
EJ returns home
During the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals, Johnson took a trip back in time and brought O’Neal and Barkley along. Johnson returned to his childhood home in Milwaukee, where he reconnected with current owners Pat and Kim Johnson and old neighbors.
“When I switched to a bicycle, it was right in front of the house. I flew down the hill and knocked my teeth out when I went over the handlebars,” said Ernie Johnson.
The impromptu gathering turned into a block party and included lots of brats, which pleased O’Neal and Barkley, and beer. And there were tears from Johnson, who became emotional upon returning to the Enderis Park neighborhood on North 68th Street.
Johnson and his family moved to Atlanta when the Milwaukee Braves relocated there. Johnson’s father, Ernie Sr., played for the Braves before becoming a member of the team’s public relations staff and announcer. —Jeff Maillet
Steam room stories
Barkley kept digging himself deeper and deeper in my favorite “Inside the NBA” moment of all time. Smith asked Barkley where he got his bracelet, and Barkley’s response was, “I got this bracelet from a guy in the steam room.” The set immediately erupted in laughter, as I’m sure many more people at home did, and the avalanche had begun.
From O’Neal pushing Smith to ask the question, to Barkley not being able to remember the name of the man he got it from, to Smith embellishing the story and insisting “baby oil” was involved, to Johnson trying to keep the show on track — this was comedy gold, and it had nothing to do with basketball. —James Boyd
Keep on running
In 2013, “Inside the NBA” featured the Chariots of Backfire race, a sprint competition between O’Neal, Barkley, Johnson, Smith and Chris Webber.
Four middle-aged men trying to see who could run the fastest went about as you might expect. There was trash talk, a controversial start And finish and of course injuries (poor Charles).
I still laugh at Webber and O’Neal getting “emotional” during the medal ceremony and Smith refusing to accept his second award. And yes, more than 10 years later, I use “Run through the tape!” as a self-motivation tactic. I’m not sure what that says about me, but I know it’s a testament to the impact “Inside the NBA” and its crew have had. —Tyler Batiste
Words can be hard
One of the best things about “Inside The NBA” is that the panelists were all the butts of the joke. They didn’t just laugh in unison; they genuinely enjoyed teasing each other.
When the Toronto Raptors ended a five-year playoff drought in 2014, Barkley just couldn’t pronounce it center Jonas Valančiūnas’ name correctly. His first attempt involved the syllable “sauce,” and it never got much better. Later, when he tried to spell it, Smith gave Barkley props for getting it “phonetically correct.” “Look at Brad’s big brain,” Barkley shot back, saying he was quoting “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” It was “Pulp Fiction,” but whatever. Good television is good television. —Eric Koreen
Required reading
Do you have a favorite memory that isn’t listed above? Let us know in the comments.
(Top photo of Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
