Charles Barkley retiring from TV analyst role after 24 years
Charles Barkley attends the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2024 on May 15, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)
Charles Barkley, the NBA hall of famer and NBA TV analyst, is retiring from television, he announced Friday.
Barkley, 61, made the announcement during NBA TV's NBA Finals postgame show.
"I’ve been thinking, guys. I want to say this because you guys are my family. I really love TNT, all the people who work here, NBA Television – you guys have been great to me for 24 years. I just want to say thank you to my entire NBA family. I love you guys," Barkley began.
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"And I just want to say thank you to my NBA family, you guys have been great to me," he continued. "My heart is full with joy and gratitude, but I’m going to pass the baton at the end of next year. I hope the NBA stays with TNT, but for me personally, I wanted you guys to hear it from me personally because I’m not doing anymore interviews."
Barkley has been working as a studio analyst for TNT for 24 years, but there’s been a lot of uncertainty around where the NBA will end up on television. The NBA's current deals with ABC-ESPN and Turner Sports expire after next season and the league has been talking with NBC, ESPN and Amazon, among other networks and platforms, about what comes next.
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"There’s been a lot of noise around our network the last few months and I just want to say I’ve talked to all the other networks, but I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT," Barkley said.
Barkley has addressed TNT’s future with the NBA before, on the popular "Inside the NBA" podcast featuring Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith.
Before making the switch to television, Barkley spent 16 seasons as a player in the NBA, suiting up for the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and the Houston Rockets. Over the course of his hall-of-fame career, he was named MVP for the 1992-1993 season, named all-star 11 times, won the rebounding title in 1987 and was named MVP of the NBA All-Star Game in 1991. He also won the gold medal with the 1992 U.S. men's basketball team, the iconic squad remembered by most sports fans as the "Dream Team."
FOX 11 Los Angeles and The Associated Press contributed to this report.