‘NBA Tip Off’ premieres on ESPN with good-natured digs

The band got back together, though they never really broke up.

Did you go? confident The crew that comprised “Inside the NBA” moved from TNT when the cable network lost NBA broadcast rights to ESPN, NBC and Amazon after last season.

But the ensemble that is somehow greater than the sum of its star-studded parts lives on — albeit now under the title “NBA Tipoff.”

The familiar lineup of Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Ernie Johnson reunited for a pregame show before Wednesday’s ESPN doubleheader, with the Cleveland Cavaliers visiting the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs visiting the Dallas Mavericks.

And they made fun of themselves and the world leader. Any fears that ESPN’s suit would stop the rolling, often hilariously dynamic quartet brought into the final decade of the 36-year-old “Inside the NBA” competition were quickly dispelled.

O’Neal opened by admonishing Johnson for mentioning Tuesday night’s NBA opener, which airs on NBC and the Peacock streaming service.

“You have to say, it’s TRON — the original opening night,” O’Neill said with a laugh. “Don’t forget who we are, boy.”

Johnson gently turned back, replying, “Don’t do that!” Laughter than others.

O’Neal said Smith was almost late for the show, and Smith said, “I haven’t been nervous since Game 7 of the NBA Finals.”

Barkley, who has been one of the most vocal skeptics of leaving TNT for ESPN, confirmed the sentiment, saying “I was nervous all day.” But before he could continue on a more serious vein, Johnson intervened and clips of Barkley were shown expressing doubt about ESPN on “The Dan Patrick Show” and other outlets.

There were more laughs, though Barkley did his best to get on the company line, saying, “I’m not going to lie. Everyone who touched the ball wanted to be on ESPN. They’re the biggest network in sports. And it’s an honor and a privilege to work with these guys.”

Johnson raved about Barkley, saying, “It’s a dream come true,” and asked Smith if he felt the same way. Smith sighed and replied, “I’ll answer yes, but do you all want a handkerchief for all those kisses?”

The laughs continued when a clip of Barkley, who had previously expressed concern about his workload on ESPN, was followed by a graphic showing his Thursday work “schedule” appearing at all hours of the day, including during broadcasts of the World Ax League and the American Cornwall League.

Basketball analysis finally followed the jokes and jabs, with O’Neal making a bold prediction about oft-injured Lakers big man Anthony Davis, now playing in Dallas: “If AD 65 plays, the Dallas Mavericks will be in the Western Conference Finals.”

“NBA Tip-Off” was scheduled to feature pregame, halftime and postgame segments during Wednesday’s doubleheader, and ESPN announced that it will air about 20 days of games airing on ESPN and ABC during the regular season.

Formats will be different on each network. The pregame show on ESPN will begin one hour before tipoff and the postgame show will begin right after the final horn. Pregame broadcasts on ABC will begin 30 minutes prior to tipoff. with the postgame show airing only after Saturday’s primetime games. The NBA Sunday Showcase series on ABC will also feature the “NBA Tip-Off” pregame show.

“We’re proud that ‘Inside the NBA’ — one of the most popular and beloved shows in all of media — will play a leading role in our NBA coverage,” ESPN chief content officer Burke Magnus said in a statement two weeks ago. “Fans should expect the same great show they’re used to seeing as it becomes an integral part of high-profile events in the NBA, including the NBA Finals.”

There was talk a few months ago that TNT could produce a separate show with the same cast, as this season’s “NBA Tip-Off” will continue to be produced at TNT’s Atlanta studios. Barkley seemed to put the kibosh on that idea when he said the TNT taped pilot was “just stupid stuff.”

“Number one, we won’t have basketball features [on TNT]Barkley said in June. “But, we’re probably going to have an NBA game. And everybody who likes basketball isn’t going to say, ‘Hey, you know what? Let me turn off an NBA game on Amazon, ESPN or NBC to see these four guys sitting around talking about nothing.’

Instead, the quartet will continue to talk hoops and trade chains, but only on ESPN and ABC.

“Inside the NBA” 2025-26 regular season broadcast schedule

2025
October 22: ESPN and ESPN2
October 23: ESPN
October 29: ESPN
November 12: ESPN
December 25: ESPN and ABC

2026
January 24: ABC
Jan. 28: ESPN
January 31: ABC
February 7: ABC
February 20: ESPN
February 21: ABC
February 22: ABC
February 27: ESPN
February 28: ABC
March 1: ABC
March 6: ESPN
March 7: ABC
March 8: ABC
March 14: ABC
April 12: ESPN