Inside the NBA, the popular NBA pregame, halftime and postgame show, will continue on ESPN following TNT's loss of broadcasting rights next season, though Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal's future with the program is apparently in question.
TNT's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, reached a deal with ESPN to license the show during the 2025-26 NBA season. O'Neal, however, is reportedly signed through July 1, 2025, meaning his current deal would expire prior to the next NBA season, according to Sports Illustrated's Jimmy Traina.
"While sources say Shaq wants to remain on the show, he’s frustrated that there has been congratulations and press releases hyping that Inside the NBA is remaining the same while he is currently not under contract to be with the company next season," Traina wrote.
O'Neal's contract differs from co-hosts Ernie Jackson, two-time NBA champion Kenny Smith and fellow Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, all of whom have other roles for Turner. Inside the NBA has won eighteen Sports Emmy Awards and rates consistently among the best sports analysis shows on American television.
The show was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in October 2016 and honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as the first NBA telecast to receive the Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2020.