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By TJ Macias
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Well, this may get awkward.
On Wednesday, “Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson announced that he would be leaving the famous show after 37 years, much to everyone’s horror.
Along with Johnson’s devastating news, Charles Barkley has said that his future with the program is still up in the air.
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“This will be my last season,” Johnson said in his announcement video posted on social media. “Totally my decision. It’s just time.”
Now, according to Front Office Sports, ESPN will be sticking with the program despite Johnson’s departure and Barkley’s eventual decision.
“ESPN is committed to continuing ‘Inside the NBA’ even if Johnson, Barkley, or both depart the cast after this season,” sources told FOS. “ESPN’s own ‘NBA Countdown’ tried and failed to compete with ‘Inside the NBA’ for decades, employing dozens of different talents ranging from Magic Johnson and Bill Simmons to Maria Taylor and Rachel Nichols.
“Even if a zombified ‘Inside the NBA’ show lurches on with a new host and revamped cast, ESPN will try to keep ‘Inside the NBA’ as its No. 1 NBA show, with ‘NBA Countdown’ as the secondary program.”
Quick question, what would that even look like?
Guessing that it will just be Shaquille O’Neal making fun of himself for hours at a time.
Johnson himself says he doesn’t want the show to end just because he’s departing.
“I don’t want to be blamed for ending Inside the NBA,” Johnson told Matt Iseman on “FOS Tonight”. “I’m stepping away from my role on there. I would hope that they could continue the show in some form. And there are plenty of great studio hosts out there who could do what I do.”
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