“It’s just time”
Ernie Johnson will host Inside the NBA for one more season. The 70-year-old announced the decision Wednesday in a video posted to social media, saying 2026-27 will be his last at the head of the show.
His explanation was short. “It’s just time,” he said. He added that nobody pushed him out and that he is not retiring, only cutting back. He also pointed to heart issues over the past few years as part of the reasoning.
He will keep working. His most visible role going forward is the NCAA men’s basketball tournament coverage on CBS and Turner Sports.
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A show losing its anchor and, soon, a second voice
Johnson is in his 37th season as host and is a Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee. Around him sit Shaquille O’Neal, who joined in 2011, Charles Barkley, who arrived in 2000, and Kenny Smith, a member since 1998. The show moved from TNT to ESPN and ABC last season and has won 21 Sports Emmy Awards.
Barkley said in September that he expects 2026-27 to be his final year too. If both men go, the studio that defined NBA television for a generation will look very different within a year.
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro called Johnson one of the most respected and beloved figures in sports media and said the network looks forward to celebrating him throughout the season.
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