It was a day that was inevitably going to come, but it still hit Charles Barkley like a ton of bricks.
“Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson announced earlier Wednesday that he will be departing the show following this season, 37 years after he joined the program.
Barkley, who has been an integral part of the beloved basketball show for over two decades, paid tribute to Johnson, 70, on Wednesday’s iteration.
Fighting back tears, the 63-year-old Barkley, finally collecting himself, spoke to what Johnson meant to him and the show as a whole.
“That was tough,” Barkley said. “We knew the day was coming. Still tough. Been here for 26, 27 years and it’s been an honor and a privilege to work with you all this time, and Kenny [Smith] and Shaq [Shaquille O’Neal], and the amazing people behind the scenes. Nothing like it to be able to dribble a stupid basketball and get rich and famous, and then come here and get paid to watch the best players in the world. … You get paid to do it. We’d watch anyway. And so many people at, you know, Turner, WBD, and now I guess we Skydance. But it’s been an amazing journey. You’ve been our leader — our unquestionable leader.
“The question I’m asked the most, I’m not gonna lie, most of the time I’m like, ‘Where’s Shaq?’ and ‘Where’s Kenny Smith?’ Like I keep them in my damn back pocket. But the question I’m probably asked the most is, ‘Is Ernie Johnson as good a person as he seems?’ And I say, ‘Man, he’s better than that.’
“So, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being our leader for all these years.”
Johnson announced the decision in a video on social media and said that a “contributing factor” in his decision to exit the show is that he’s dealt with heart issues over the past few years and had bypass surgery a little over a year ago.
The host said he’d been doing well most of Wednesday until Barkley gave him a huge “thank you.”
“Chuckster, that means the world,” Johnson said. “Look, I was holding everything together pretty well today, and then looking at you, man.”
Johnson will remain with the program through this season and will still be part of March Madness and other projects for TNT and CBS.
Barkley has previously said this would be his last season with “Inside the NBA” — foreshadowing Johnson’s exit.
“Me and Ernie are a package deal,” Barkley told Bill Simmons. “So right now, unless Ernie changes his mind, next year is my last year, 100 percent.”
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