"Big giant el feo"- Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal hilariously brush up their Spanish ahead of ESPN move
The beloved basketball studio show "Inside the NBA," featuring the iconic team of Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith, will not be going off the air after all. ESPN confirmed that the show will transition to their network starting in the 2025-26 season.
This move is part of a settlement between Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA, following the end of TNT’s longstanding broadcasting rights for NBA games after this season.
Ahead of the transition, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal humorously tried their hand at Spanish, joking about joining ESPN, which has ESPN Deportes, a major Spanish-language sports channel owned by ESPN Inc.
Barkley kept calling O’Neal “el muchacho” (young man) and then asked Ernie Johnson what the Spanish word for "ugly" was.
Upon learning it was "feo," Charles Barkley quickly poked fun at O’Neal:
“El muchacho el feo. Big giant el feo” (This guy is ugly. Big giant is ugly).
O’Neal swiftly responded by asking the studio crew:
“How do you say fata** in Spanish, college students? How do you say fata**?”
According to Joe Flint from The Wall Street Journal, the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery have reached a legal settlement concerning the league's rights, which also includes the future of "Inside the NBA." As part of the agreement, ESPN and ABC will license "Inside the NBA" from Warner Bros.
In exchange, ESPN will allow TNT to broadcast a number of Big 12 college football and basketball games. Additionally, Warner Bros. Discovery will retain access to NBA content, which includes managing NBA digital operations, continuing NBA content production through Bleacher Report and House of Highlights and potentially creating new shows.
Stephen A. Smith excited to have Charles Barkley & Co. over at ESPN
Stephen A. Smith expressed his excitement about the move, welcoming "Inside the NBA" to ESPN.
He emphasized that adding the beloved show wouldn't affect his role with the company, as his primary focus remains on “First Take.”
“Here’s the biggest reason why it wouldn’t affect me: All of them are my boys. Ernie Johnson is a phenomenal human being. A great host a great man, I love him to death. Shaquille O’Neal is my brother,” he said. (0:50 mark)
“Kenny Smith and I go back to my days in junior high school when his brother Vincent Smith used to train me as a basketball player. And then of course there’s the one and only Charles Barkley as well, who I also love dearly."
"Inside the NBA" had been at risk after the NBA finalized an 11-year media rights deal with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon, ending its partnership with TNT.