Ernie Johnson Announces His Final Season Hosting Inside the NBA, 36 Years After He Took Over
Johnson said in a video posted to X on Oct. 28 that 2026-27 will be his final season hosting Inside the NBA. He has hosted the show since 1990, and it now airs on ESPN under a license with TNT Sports.
Photo: Eric Kilby via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley on the Inside the NBA set before the 2011 Eastern Conference finals in Chicago.
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Johnson said in a video posted to X on Oct. 28 that 2026-27 will be his final season hosting Inside the NBA, as Marc Stein first reported.
Johnson took over as host of Inside the NBA in 1990, per his Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame biography and The Hollywood Reporter. Turner Sports hired him in 1989. The announcement comes 36 years after he took over (by our count).
The show's move to ESPN
The show is now licensed to ESPN as part of Warner Bros. Discovery's settlement with the NBA, per The Hollywood Reporter. It is still produced by TNT Sports from its Atlanta studios, per ESPN's press release on the 2026-27 schedule. That schedule lists 25 regular-season appearances across ESPN and ABC, with Johnson as host alongside Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith. The regular-season slate ends April 11, and ESPN said the 2027 playoff schedule will be announced later in the season.
Emmys and honors
Johnson won the 2026 Sports Emmy for outstanding studio host, per Deadline, after winning the same category in 2025. The Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame inducted him, and its biography says Inside the NBA has won 17 Sports Emmy Awards.
Sources
- Ernie Johnson on X. Oct. 28, 2026. The video announcing his final season.
- Marc Stein on X. Oct. 28, 2026. The first report that 2026-27 is Johnson's final season as host.
- Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Ernie Johnson. Hired by Turner Sports in 1989, host of Inside the NBA from 1990, and the show's 17 Sports Emmys.
- The Hollywood Reporter: Charles Barkley says he's retiring with Ernie Johnson after 2026-27. Johnson hosting since 1990 and the ESPN license.
- ESPN Press Room: Inside the NBA 2026-27 regular season schedule. Oct. 1, 2026. TNT Sports production, 25 appearances and the on-air lineup.
- Deadline: 2026 Sports Emmys winners list. May 2026. Johnson's studio host win.
- Deadline: 2025 Sports Emmys winners list. May 2025. Johnson's studio host win.
The 36-year span is the desk's own math from the linked sources.
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