Ernie Johnson addresses Charles Barkley’s future on ‘Inside the NBA’

The 2026-27 NBA season will officially double as an Ernie Johnson victory lap, as the beloved host announced Wednesday his plan to step away from ESPN’s Inside the NBA after this season. “I just wanted to get it out there,” Johnson said of his decision to announce the news now while appearing on The Dan Patrick Show on Thursday. “I didn’t think it would be very fair to kind of just be—I’m not gonna spring something like that on somebody at the end of the season and say, ‘Oh!