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Saturday, June 15, 2024

Charles Barkley: One More and Done

Charles Barkley Intends To Retire

Charles Barkley, part of the highly popular, award-winning "Inside the NBA" studio show, said Friday night that the 2024-25 season will be his last with TNT and that he won't be joining any other network beyond that, either.

"I ain't going nowhere other than TNT," Barkley said on NBA-TV following the Dallas Mavericks' Game 4 victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday night. "But I have made the decision that no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television. And I just want to say thank you to my NBA family. You guys have been great to me. My heart is full with joy and gratitude."

The NBA has been negotiating its next media rights deals, which would begin in the 2025-26 season. While the league hasn't announced what the deals will look like, Disney/ABC/ESPN, Amazon, NBC and Warner Bros. Discovery have been vying for what's reported to be three available packages of games and affiliated content worth an estimated $76 billion to the league over a decade.

"I hope the NBA stays with TNT, but for me personally, I wanted you guys to hear it from me ... I wanted to tell my NBATV and TNT family that I'm not going to another network, but I'm going to pass the baton to either Jamal Crawford or Vince Carter or you Steve (Smith)," Barkley said.

"But next year, I'm going to just retire after 25 years, and I just wanted to say thank you. And I wanted y'all to hear it from me first."


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