In the NBA, there\u2019s never a shortage of those familiar \u201cwhat if\u201d stories. Most of the time, though, they center on players still in the association, not those who\u2019ve already stepped away.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what makes one particular near-miss involving Kobe Bryant<\/a>\u2019s post-playing career so fascinating.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Had things unfolded differently, Bryant could have found himself sharing the spotlight with Charles Barkley, Shaquille O\u2019Neal and Kenny Smith on one of basketball\u2019s most recognizable television panels. Barkley<\/a> revealed details about the possibility during a 2022 appearance on \u201cThe Draymond Green<\/a> Show,\u201d offering a glimpse into what might have been for Bryant after his playing days came to an end.<\/p>\n Kobe almost joined the TNT crew<\/p>\n The core of \u201cInside the NBA\u201d hasn\u2019t changed much over the years. Ernie Johnson remains the host, with the guys mentioned above doing their part. From time to time, however, there has been the occasional guest or new voice. That said, the people behind \u201cInside the NBA\u201d don\u2019t seem afraid to mix in fresh dynamics to keep the format going.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n At one point, that balance nearly shifted with the addition of one of the greatest players in league history, Bryant.<\/p>\n Barkley, one of the game\u2019s best power forwards, spoke about how close it came to happening. In a conversation with Green, he said the late Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> icon had actually been hired at one point after signing a contract with TNT.<\/p>\n Chuck didn\u2019t go into detail about the role Kobe would have taken on. What the 1993 MVP did make clear, however, was the reaction behind the scenes.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cWe were excited. We were really excited,\u201d Barkley emphasized<\/a>.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s easy to see why. After all, the idea \u2014 though at one point it seemed to be more than just that \u2014 of adding an 18-time All-Star, five-time champion and one of the game\u2019s sharpest minds to an already iconic set carried real weight.<\/p>\n Heavy schedule led him to walk away<\/p>\n Barkley described a real sense of excitement around the idea, one that, in the end, didn\u2019t last.<\/p>\n As to why, he explained that things shifted once Bryant learned what the role actually involved. It wasn\u2019t just showing up on Thursdays \u2014 there were radio spots, appearances and a steady stream of media obligations that came with it.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n According to Barkley, all of this ultimately made Bryant push back, saying, \u201cYeah, I don\u2019t want to do all that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Even just attending \u201cInside the NBA\u201d screenings would have been a big shift for Bryant after retirement. The added commitments didn\u2019t appeal to him.<\/p>\n Within about a week to ten days, the deal was off.<\/p>\n In some ways, the reasoning behind Kobe\u2019s decision feels a little surprising. After all, few athletes ever embodied a relentless work ethic as he did. One look at what defined his famous \u201cMamba Mentality\u201d makes that clear.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Then again, it\u2019s not as if that drive disappeared after his April 2016 retirement. It just shifted. The NBA legend simply poured it into other projects he cared about.<\/p>\n Bryant\u2019s ESPN series \u201cDetail\u201d was the clearest example.<\/p>\n There, he broke down the game of basketball with a level of insight few could match. It was another reminder of how much the Hall of Fame swingman saw in the sport. And while it\u2019s fair to see it as a loss that he didn\u2019t bring that to \u201cInside the NBA,\u201d Kobe\u2019s post-playing work still leaves plenty to appreciate on its own.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Related: “He watched his interviews” – Ex-NBA player on Kobe Bryant’s obsession with Michael Jordan<\/a><\/p>\n This story was originally published by Basketball Network<\/a> on Jun 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court<\/a> section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the NBA, there\u2019s never a shortage of those familiar \u201cwhat if\u201d stories. Most of the time, though,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[351,13339,101076,7566,1055,355,9748,99],"class_list":["post-682478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-charles-barkley","tag-draymond-green","tag-inside-the-nba","tag-kobe-bryant","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-nba","tag-shaquille-oneal","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}