{"id":898845,"date":"2026-10-29T15:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T15:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/898845\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T15:00:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T15:00:21","slug":"ernie-johnson-set-to-hang-up-his-nba-microphone-after-this-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/898845\/","title":{"rendered":"Ernie Johnson set to hang up his NBA microphone after this season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Longtime \u201cInside the NBA\u201d host Ernie Johnson announced Wednesday that this season behind the desk will be his las<\/a>t<\/a>, ending a career that made him one of the most prominent voices of pro basketball.<\/p>\n

Johnson thanked show staff and co-hosts Shaquille O\u2019Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, calling his \u201cInside the NBA\u201d gig as the ultimate \u201cget-to\u201d position for the past 37 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve long described it as a \u2018get-to job.\u2019 I\u2019m still amazed that I get to do this for a living,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s been an honor to share so many nights, decades actually, at the desk with my brothers \u2014 Kenny, Charles and Shaq \u2014 and with our production crews who are so talented and devoted. And I so appreciate the leadership at TNT and ESPN for allowing the show to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""Inside“Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson with analysts Kenny Smith, center, and Charles Barkley in 2010.Erik S. Lesser \/ AP<\/p>\n

At age 70, Johnson said the homework he needs to do for every show had become enough a burden to make 2027 the year to step away.<\/p>\n

The host has been fighting heart disease<\/a> for at least two years and underwent bypass surgery 14 months ago. He also was previously diagnosed with non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, in 2003, and prostate cancer in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo why now?\u201d Johnson said. \u201cTotal honesty here. I\u2019ve always prided myself on my preparation. The hours I put in every day, getting ready for the next show. I\u2019ve always loved that part of my job. But I\u2019ve always vowed that if that ever became more of a challenge than it is a joy, then I\u2019ll know it\u2019s time to step away.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI know after 37 seasons, it\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"2026Ernie Johnson speaks with OG Anunoby after the New York Knicks won the 2026 NBA Finals. Jesse D. Garrabrant \/ NBAE via Getty <\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s stint on \u201cInside the NBA\u201d began in 1990 on TNT and TBS before the show moved to ESPN last year. <\/p>\n

Smith joined the show full-time in 1998 before Barkley was added in 2000 and then O\u2019Neal in 2011.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s retirement also throws in question Barkley\u2019s future as a broadcaster. Barkley has called the two of them \u201ca package deal,\u201d <\/a>and the 63-year-old former Philadelphia 76er, Phoenix Sun and Houston Rocket appeared to fight back tears as he thanked Johnson for all his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was tough,\u201d Barkley said on ESPN\u2019s \u201cNBA Tip Off.\u201d \u201cWe knew the day was coming, still tough. (I\u2019ve) been here for 26, 27 years and it\u2019s been an honor and privilege to work with you all this time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Barkley said when he meets fans off camera, they always want to know more about his co-workers.<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018Where\u2019s Shaq and where\u2019s Kenny,\u2019 like I keep them in my damn back pocket,\u201d Barkley said. \u201cBut the question I\u2019m probably asked the most is, \u2018Is Ernie Johnson as good a person as he seems?\u2019 And I say, \u2018Man, he\u2019s better than that.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Longtime \u201cInside the NBA\u201d host Ernie Johnson announced Wednesday that this season behind the desk will be his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-898845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898845","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=898845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}