Charles Barkley retiring from TV after 2024-25 season in NBA bombshell

Charles Barkley, an NBA great and hugely popular TV performer, has dropped a bombshell statement on his future.

Charles Barkley has cleared the air on his NBA media future — and he won’t be on the airwaves for much longer.

Barkley announced on NBA TV on Friday night (Saturday AEST) after Game 4 of the Finals that the 2024-25 season will be his last on television, as the New York Post reports.

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Amid TNT’s uncertainty over whether it will carry NBA games beyond next season, Barkley said he will not be leaving the network but will instead retire from TV altogether.

“You guys have been great to me for 24 years and I just want to say thank you to my entire NBA family,” Barkley said in the post-game coverage after Dallas kept the series with Boston alive.

“There has been a lot of noise around our network the last few months. I’ve talked to all the other networks but I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT.

“But I have made the decision myself — no matter what happens — next year is going to be my last year on television.”

Charles Barkley made the announcement after game 4 of the Finals.

Barkley is an all-time great from his playing days.

Barkley, a Basketball Hall of Fame player, has become an icon as a media member over the last two decades thanks to his work as an analyst on TNT’s “Inside the NBA”, which is generally lauded as one of the best studio shows in sports.

After he retired as a player in 2000, he quickly became an “NBA on TNT” personality known for his humorous approach to talking about the sport.

But now, he believes when he hits the 25-year mark next season, it will be time to call it quits.

Amid all this, there are questions over whether Warner Bros. Discovery — the parent company of TNT — will lose the rights to televise NBA games after next season, which puts the future of “Inside the NBA” into question.

During Stanley Cup coverage this week, ESPN’s Steve Levy even pitched Barkley to join that network’s NBA coverage, but the TNT personality largely sidestepped the topic.

Barkley, seen with long-time colleague Kenny Smith, plans to retire from broadcasting. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images/AFP)

Barkley will have lots more time to work on his notoriously bad golf game. (Isaiah Vazquez/Clarkson Creative/Getty Images/AFP)

But, on Friday, Barkley said he’ll end his media career and look to hand over the “baton” to a replacement.

“I wanted to tell my TNT and NBA TV family that I’m not going to another network,” he added.

“But I’m going to pass the baton to either Jamal Crawford or Vince Carter or you, Steve (Smith).

“But next year I’m just going to retire after 25 years and I just wanted to say thank you and I wanted y’all to hear it from me first.”

Barkley has also worked on coverage for the men’s NCAA basketball tournament since 2011 on Warner Bros. Discovery-owned channels and CBS.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission