It sounds like this really is it for Charles Barkley.
After years of retirement talk, Barkley said he plans to step away from public life following the 2026-27 NBA season, meaning this would be his final year on ESPN’s Inside the NBA.
“I’m going to take a step back from public life,” Barkley said in an interview with WSFA-TV, via The Big Lead. “I’ve had the greatest life a person can have.”
Barkley, 63, has been doing this for nearly 25 years, becoming every bit as recognizable to a generation of NBA fans for his work alongside Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal as he was during his Hall of Fame playing career.
He’s threatened to walk away before. This time sounds different. Barkley recently said on The Bill Simmons Podcast that this would likely be his final season and indicated that Johnson may not be far behind him.
Johnson was also instrumental in convincing Barkley to stick around when Inside the NBA moved from TNT to ESPN in 2025.
Maybe Barkley changes his mind again. Television executives will certainly give him every reason to. But if he doesn’t, enjoy the season.
NBA television won’t be quite the same without him.
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