Charles Barkley is once again talking about retiring from “Inside the NBA.”
On Bill Simmons' podcast, Barkley said Ernie Johnson, the longtime host of the award-winning show, asked him to commit to two years before last season.
“I said, ‘I love you man. You’re the best. I’ll stay,’” Barkley told Simmons. “So right now, unless Ernie changes his mind, next year is my last year, 100 percent.”
Barkley talked about stepping away before when TNT lost out of the new media rights deal with the NBA, but he has an unyielding love for the network and wanted to help the employees there retain their jobs.
ESPN started airing the show last season, but it remains in Atlanta in the same TNT studio.
Barkley, 63, is regarded as one of the best NBA television analysts.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns icon Charles Barkley talking retirement again, explains reasoning
