Five Greatest Moments From Inside The NBA

Inside The NBA on TNT, hosted by Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley, will have its final broadcast season coming up in 2024-25. It marks the end of a 36-year partnership between the TV network and the NBA.

Inside The NBA became appointment television viewing for many fans, and has had many iconic moments over the years. We came up with a list of the five greatest moments that stood out.

“It’s Supposed To Be One, Two, Three. Not One, Two, Back To One”

During the 2019 playoffs, the Inside The NBA crew had a quick round table discussion about the Portland Trailblazers and Denver Nuggets Western Conference semifinals series. Well… at least it was supposed to be quick. Charles Barkley took up two or the three minutes on the clock and didn’t leave any time for Shaq.

Words between the two were exchanged followed by an iconic quote from the big man: “It’s supposed to be one, two, three, not one, two back to one.” Watch the reaction of Ernie Johnson in particular.

“Police Presence”

Another iconic moment from the show involved a very bizarre story about a postgame incident between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers in 2018. This was Chris Paul’s return to Los Angeles as the opponent.

The game was very chippy and it spilled over into the locker room afterwards. To make sure nothing further escalated, the Rockets had a police presence outside their team bus. Shaq and Charles took the story from there and ran with it.

Steam Room Bracelet

There was never a dull moment for Charles Barkley to tell the most random stories. That was certainly the case one night in 2016. A random dude in the steam room gave Charles a bracelet. He didn’t even ask for it. Kenny Smith was bewildered, asking all sorts of questions. Shaq acted like a child just cracking up hysterically.

Watch O’Neal’s reaction when Charles says, “Hey man, whatever your name is, thank you for my bracelet”. Another random and legendary unscripted moment from Inside The NBA.

Gas Price Mathematics

Buckle your seatbelt for this story. Kenny and Shaq were having a discussion about gas prices of all things. Smith didn’t want to buy a certain type of vehicle because the price would be $80 to fill the tank. Shaq then tried to explain his “trick” to getting a full tank, which would have flunked him out of third grade math.

Without giving too much else away, just watch Ernie and Charles the entire conversation. It’s hilarious. Sit back and enjoy.

Charles Barkley Phoenix Suns Rant

In 2016, the Phoenix Suns were a horrible basketball team and one of their all-time great players, Charles Barkley, had an all-time rant. Nothing was off limits; everything from the front office to the food and even the parking lot. What was supposed to be a highlight package regarding a regular season game between the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns turned into TV gold. Watch this.