By Stuart Shikano
Inside the NBA is the best sports show ever. We can all agree on that, right? Great. I’m taking it a step further to say that Inside the NBA is one of the best shows ever. I seriously cannot think of too many TV shows that I enjoy watching as much as Inside the NBA.
The show has been firing on all cylinders for a long time at this point. The thing that makes the show great is the chemistry between its four stars. But, each and every one of them brings something very valuable to the show that is unique to them.
So, there’s the host Ernie Johnson, and the three analysts– Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal. Host Ernie Johnson has been working for TNT sports the longest at 30 years, then came Kenny, and then came Charles Barkley to take the show to new levels. After many years of show excellence, Shaquille O’Neal joined the show in 2011, after a Hall of Fame NBA career. It was the rich getting richer a la Kevin Durant joining the 73-win Golden State Warriors in 2016.
The host of Inside the NBA, Ernie Johnson is the ultimate professional. Ernie is as respected as can be, both as a person and as a broadcaster. His ability to keep the show on track, not get overshadowed by Charles and Shaq, and add his own funny quips makes him a rare person qualified for this job. Ernie can be described as the heart of the show. He’s also someone that the analysts and viewers trust to lead the way.
Kenny Smith, the unsung hero of the show, keeps the show grounded. He is a smart commentator, the primary X’s & O’s guy, and a superb analogist. Kenny is also great at discovering what’s funny and what’s entertaining for the audience. There are a lot of times where Charles or Shaq have said something amusing, but the comment when unchecked, and Kenny will make a comment on it being odd or amusing. A potential funny moment was about to slip away and then Kenny saves it and the thing opens itself up to the whole panel. Viewers see Kenny’s point guard instincts kick in with his ability to notice and capitalize on developing opportunities.
Then, we have the guy who really makes this thing go– Sir Charles Barkley. A one of a kind, Barkley is funny, blunt, and charismatic. This was true when he first became famous as a basketball player and it remains true as an analyst because that’s who Charles Barkley really is. He’s as authentic as it gets and that’s what makes him wildly entertaining. I mean, Charles Barkley hosted Saturday Night Live when he was playing in 1993 and then after his playing career in 2010, 2012, and 2018. Not many athletes host that show once and none host after their playing career is over. Barkley’s personality makes for reliably funny and amusing comments every show.
In 2011, the show got some extra juice when Shaquille O’Neal joined the program. Shaq’s big personality has added an extra dimension to the show. One of the most iconic athletes in modern history and one of the biggest personalities you’ll find anywhere, Shaq makes the show even bigger. A presence of someone as famous as him on a sports studio show is not common. Shaq’s laugh is contagious and he is also able to make Barkley’s jokes even funnier simply by laughing and asking Barkley to repeat it. I laugh every time Barkley fires off a joke and Shaq laughs as he asks, ‘What’d he say, Chuck?’ or ‘What’d you say, Chuck?’ Such an ability is uniquely Shaq; Shaq’s dynamic presence is enough to get a laugh simply by laughing and asking the joke teller to say it again.
The chemistry is always excellent and is what drives the show. You can tell all four of these guys love each other and they feel like a family. Every show, there is always something super funny that happens. There are always laughs to be had. It could be through a joke one of the guys delivers, an odd comment that others on the panel find funny, Kenny poking fun at Barkley, Barkley poking fun at Shaq, Shaq poking fun at Barkley, or any one of them or all of them poking fun at something else. The reason the humor appeals so much to people is because it arises organically. You see a lot of sports shows (and sitcoms too) force humor and it makes people uncomfortable. You can tell they’re TRYING to have a funny moment and the lack of authenticity kills the whole thing. But, with Inside the NBA, it is a guarantee that viewers will laugh at real moments and real banter. The real moments and the real banter all comes from the four guys having great chemistry.
Even their fights are wildly entertaining, instead of awkward and cringeworthy. These four guys are so comfortable with each other that they feel free to argue on TV. Most of the heated arguments are between Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal. Usually those arguments will escalate to Barkley saying Kobe and D-Wade helped carry Shaq to championships or he will mock his last few NBA seasons and Shaq will remind Barkley that he never won a championship. Harsh stuff, but because of Charles and Shaq’s brotherly relationship, it’s not as big of a deal as some may think it is, and it doesn’t blow over into the next show. These guys are brothers and fight like brothers. The fact that they feel free to go at it like this is a testament to their bond.
In conclusion, TNT has caught lightning in a bottle with this show. A sports show like Inside the NBA will never be duplicated. This is a show that features two of the greatest NBA players of all time in Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, which obviously gives the show instant credibility. But the more crucial part of having Chuck and Shaq working together is that it gives the show quite possibly the two biggest personalities to ever play the game. You could put together an NBA studio show with other legends, but it would not be as funny as having Charles Barkley and Shaq together. A host like Ernie Johnson is hard to come by. The same for an analyst like Kenny Smith. So, the next time we hear Charles going on a hilarious Charles riff, see Kenny go into the game via screen technology, watch Shaq go through the Shaqtin-A-Fool finalists, and watch E.J.’s Neat-O Stat of the Night, let’s all appreciate each and every one of them and them as a group. And let’s appreciate them and the show until their last one together.
StuartTheWW 