Open Thread: Inside The Nba’s Ernie Johnson Announces This Is His Final Season

For thirty-eight years, Inside the NBA has been a staple of basketball analysis. In its premiere season, the show had no dedicated host. The following year, sideline reporter Ernie Johnson claimed the position as the show’s host, a role he has maintain ever since.

Last week, the emcee and ringleader tasked with managing the personalities of Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny “The Jet” Smith disclosed that the 2026-2027 season will be his last with the show. The announcement was immediately met with sorrow from the trio of retired players for which he’s shared the broadcast over the years.

Johnson began his broadcasting career while attending the University of Georgia. A year after graduating, he worked as a newscaster in Macon, Georgia. Two years later he moved to South Carolina on general assignment, eventually picking up sports on the weekend.

From 1993-1996, Johnson called Atalanta Braves games alongside his father, a 1950s Major League pitcher and Braves play-by-play announcer from 1962-1999.

But E.J.’s bread-and-butter has been at the helm of Inside the NBA for over three decades. The steady hand, the voice of reason, and the man who has attempted for literally thousands of episodes to keep the train on the tracks. The show known for its chemistry and hijinks, highs and lows, and which, at times, seems to be less about basketball and more about the moment has engulfed the zeitgeist and become a staple of basketball. Whether it’s the analysis, the banter, sense of humor (Charles Barkley picks on San Antonio as a town quite a bit), or political commentary (Kenny Smith walked off the set in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake), Inside the NBA has embraced fans worldwide.

When the show lost its broadcasting rights, Barkley walked away from an estimated $100 million to stay, saving the jobs of production and behind-the-scenes staff at Turner. In 2025, rather than being cancelled, Inside the NBA transitioned to ESPN and ABC while continuing to be produced by TNT Sports with the original crew.

The show has survived the slings and arrows. But one thing is for sure — once Ernie Johnson unplugs his microphone it will never be the same.

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