Could it be that after all the drama of the past two years, the odd and even surreal sight of “Inside the NBA” on ESPN marked a return to normal for the show?
Yes, the ESPN logos displayed throughout the Studio J set in Atlanta were hard to get used to. For one thing, they did not fit easily into the spaces set aside for the circular “TNT” logo. But outside of those small changes, “Inside” looked and sounded exactly as it did on TNT, just as ESPN executives and representatives promised. Thanks in part to overtime of the Nuggets-Warriors game, it ran until 1:36 AM ET on Thursday.
And while the show featured contributions from ESPN reporters — including lengthy exchanges with Shams Charania, whose on-air presence has shortcomings that were far too evident during his multiple “Inside” hits Thursday — it still showcased that unique TNT DNA that TNT Sports chief content officer Craig Barry spoke about in a recent press release.
It is that DNA that has made “Inside” the NBA show of record. On a Thursday where an NBA coach and player were arrested as part of a gambling investigation, what other show would one want to watch to contextualize the day’s events? There is no NBA anchor viewers would trust more than Ernie Johnson. And of all the NBA analysts working today, name one who the majority of viewers would be interested in hearing from more than Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal. Kendrick Perkins? Seems doubtful. The next generation of studio analysts on NBC and Amazon have years to go before becoming TV institutions, if they ever do.
ESPN has never previously had the leading NBA studio show. It is a bit of a coincidence that on several of the most trying nights in recent NBA history, ESPN had a game scheduled. The night the NBA shut down its season in March 2020, ESPN was airing a doubleheader (or at least it planned to; the second game was called off). When Kobe Bryant died earlier that year, ESPN had a game that evening. The “Malice at the Palace” was an ESPN game. And while the post-“Malice” studio bridge was one of the most memorable segments in ESPN history, realistically the network has never been able to reliably lean on its NBA studio in these moments.
The TNT studio has been on-air for some trying moments as well, from the immediate aftermath of the Donald Sterling scandal to the day in the bubble when the players boycott playoff games. And those discussions can get heated, as they did Thursday night when Smith and Barkley firmly disagreed on whether the alleged behavior of the accused was an indication of gambling addiction or, as Barkley argued, mere stupidity.
For as much fun as the TNT studio has on-air, heated conversations — true heat, not Shaq being mad about a slight — are as much a part of the DNA as the jokes. One could go back as far as when Barkley posed on the cover of Sports Illustrated in a slave outfit, which led to a lengthy on-air exchange that was even replayed on CNN the next day (where Barkley was a contributor). Like the humorous exchanges, the heated ones never come off as scripted or inauthentic. You never doubt that the feelings are real.
Contrast that with the face of ESPN’s NBA coverage prior to this season, Stephen A. Smith. In the immediate aftermath of Thursday’s news, Smith went on an impromptu monologue suggesting that the investigation was motivated by political retribution and that other leagues would face the same fate. Set aside whether or not you agree and ask yourself if Smith was acting as a journalist, a pundit or a provocateur. Were his comments based on sources in the leagues or the government? Were they his genuine belief, based on his experience and journalistic instincts? Or were they something he said to get engagement, to promote his podcast, to keep himself in the political conversation? You can never trust that what you hear from him is sincere.
That is never a problem with TNT. Between Barkley, Smith and O’Neal, you are getting their unvarnished thoughts and feelings — for better or worse. There are no contrivances.
That has not always been such a great thing. The past two seasons, as Turner was in the process of losing the NBA rights it held for 40 years, there was clear tension. Whether it was Barkley giving a quick elevator interview to a New York Times reporter over the objections of a nearby Smith and Johnson, or Barkley upbraiding management in any number of public interviews, the discontent was plain for all to see.
Why wouldn’t it be? While the core four would always have the option to take another job post-TNT, the soul of “Inside” is its crew. And until the announcement last November that ESPN would license “Inside” in full, it was far from clear what would happen to those employees.
And the uncertainty hanging over Studio J would seem to have seeped into the on-air product, which the past two years has had an edge to it that could not always be softened by humor.
But now, with all questions answered, that edge would seem to have disappeared. Wednesday’s season premiere had a welcome lightness from the pregame all the way through “Inside,” and while Thursday’s events necessitated a more serious show — and the testy exchange between Barkley and Smith — there was still more of the ‘good time’ vibe that has defined this show since Barkley’s arrival in 2000.
There is a culture shock aspect of watching “Inside the NBA” on ESPN, as the TNT Sports style is so different from that of ESPN. TNT is kinetic and improvisational, with the kind of snappy cuts that make you forget you’re watching four men sit at a desk for hours on end. There are no lower thirds at the bottom of the screen telling you what the analysts are talking about, and those analysts almost never lock eyes with the camera, unless Barkley has something particularly pointed to say.
With the exception of “College Gameday,” the ESPN style feels staid even when the analysts are standing on a makeshift court. Nothing feels improvised. (As noted in a prior piece, NBC’s Maria Taylor showed more personality dealing with technical issues in the first segment of “NBA Showtime” on Tuesday than she did in two years hosting “NBA Countdown.”)
It is perhaps notable that between Katie George reporting on-site from Indianapolis and especially newcomer Mike Malone appearing from his home, the ESPN talent who appeared on TNT’s studio programming Thursday had more to do, and more to say, than they would typically on ESPN. It does not seem like much of a stretch to say that the TNT style elevates talent in a way not afforded by ESPN’s more regimented, time-sensitive approach.
The “Inside” crew returns next Wednesday and then again two weeks later, before a ten-week stretch in which they will only work Christmas Day. That means ESPN’s NBA studio will be adjacent to game windows for most weeks until late January. The contrast between “Inside” and the ESPN studio, which has been unflattering for years, may attract a harsher spotlight now that both shows are on the same network.
The easiest way to fix that problem is to have “Inside” on full-time, but the show has a backloaded schedule at the request of TNT, ESPN president of content Burke Magnus said last month. (And realistically, the kind of workload required for the show to fully replace “NBA Countdown” would almost certainly be a no go for its talent.)
Alternatively, ESPN could try to develop some of that TNT DNA for itself. All the fears that ESPN would change “Inside” have so far appeared unfounded. Maybe the solution here is to have “Inside” change ESPN.
