Overview

• ESPN’s early 2025–26 schedule lists Inside the NBA only on opening night and on Christmas Day.
• Shaquille O’Neal said a separate special show will be shot once or twice a week during ESPN downtime.
• Details on the specials’ format and where they will appear were not disclosed in the remarks cited.
• Inside the NBA is being licensed to ESPN from TNT, with the core team of O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith intact.
• Barkley has criticized a taped pilot and said a TNT-produced version could lack game highlights and potentially run opposite live NBA broadcasts.