‘I’m gonna be on LinkedIn,’ says Charles Barkley as Inside the NBA star jokes about show’s future on live TV
TNT star Charles Barkley joked about Inside the NBA's future in stunning fashion on Sunday night.
Barkley, 61, made fun of the possibility of Inside the NBA ending if TNT loses its broadcast rights to the NBA.
The Inside the NBA program appeared on TV after the Minnesota Timberwolves' Game 7 victory over the Denver Nuggets in the second round.
Toward the end of the episode, host Ernie Johnson revealed the announcement schedule of various NBA awards.
But Barkley interrupted Johnson and asked his colleague, "Wait, 2 p.m. tomorrow?
"We're not doing that are we?"
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Once Johnson said TNT won't cover a respective NBA award on Monday, Barkley replied, "Because I'm gonna be on LinkedIn tomorrow afternoon."
Barkley's joke about going on Linkedin, the popular job search website, caused Inside the NBA's Kenny "The Jet" Smith to laugh hysterically as Johnson moved on to a highlight segment.
Barkley hasn't been shy in letting the world know of his future with Inside the NBA.
Recently, the 61-year-old revealed that he won't stay with Turner if they lose their NBA rights.
"I just signed a 10-year deal two years ago, but one of the things I did was I put an opt-out in a couple of years because I wanted to cover my ass when it comes to this situation," Barkley said in an interview with 850 ESPN Cleveland last week.
"I said, ‘If you guys lose the NBA, I want to make sure I can get out of here.'
"So, I am actually in a really great position.
"Listen, I love TNT, they’ve been great to me … I wanted to make sure that if we lost the NBA in two years, I could be a free agent."
It's been speculated that TNT has a chance of losing the right of the NBA to NBC.
The latter network is reportedly offering $2.5 billion.
Inside the NBA is an Emmy-winning sports show.
The program has been a massive success thanks to the likes of Shaquille O'Neal and Barkley.
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Inside the NBA's future?
Inside the NBA's run on TNT Sports is in doubt due to the NBA's broadcasting deals.
The Emmy-winning sports show is a fan favorite thanks to the likes of Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley.
But TNT's broadcast deal with the NBA is up after next season and NBC is lining up a bid to take those rights.
If TNT loses its NBA package, it raises questions over the popular Inside the NBA.
One solution could be to recreate the show on another network, which snaps up the NBA rights.
O'Neal was abruptly absent from the Inside the NBA set on Sunday amid the show's murky future.
ESPN analyst Vince Carter took the NBA legend's place.