'Next Year Is Going To Be My Last Year': NBA Hall Of Fame Charles ...

NBA Hall of Fame and "Inside the NBA" analyst Charles Barkley announced he will retire after the 2024-25 season. Barkley has been the face of “ Inside the NBA” on TNT Sports.

Barkley has been working for TNT for more than two decades and his prolonged association is now coming to an end. NBA’s current broadcasting deal will expire after the completion of the next season and the league has already been in talks with some of the major networks with the likes of NBC, ESPN and Amazon.

Reports suggested the new deal could exceed all the expectations and could breach the $70 billion barrier as the NBA is likely to offer an 11 year deal. TNT’s chances of grabbing another deal are looking very slim at the moment and addressing the concerns Barkley said he will go nowhere other than TNT but next year will be his last on TV.

Barkley said on NBATV, "I ain't going nowhere other than TNT.

"But I have made the decision that no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television. And I just want to say thank you to my NBA family. You guys have been great to me. My heart is full with joy and gratitude."

He further aded, "I hope the NBA stays with TNT, but for me personally, I wanted you guys to hear it from me ... I wanted to tell my NBATV and TNT family that I'm not going to another network, but I'm going to pass the baton to either Jamal Crawford or Vince Carter or you Steve (Smith)," Barkley said.

"But next year, I'm going to just retire after 25 years, and I just wanted to say thank you. And I wanted y'all to hear it from me first."

In the NBA finals, the Dallas Mavericks crushed the Boston Celtics 122-84 in Game 4 to end Celtics’ 10 game winning run in the playoffs. All the eyes will be on TD Garden as these two teams will face each other in Game 5.