‘Inside the NBA’ vet retiring from the show after 37 years — ‘It’s just time’

Atlanta broadcaster Ernie Johnson Jr. announced Wednesday that he will step away from hosting “Inside the NBA” once the season concludes, marking 37 seasons.

“I’ve long described it as a ‘get to’ job,” Johnson said on Instagram. “Still amazed I get to do this for a living. As the years have gone by and I turned 70 this past summer, people have asked me, ‘So how long are you going to do ‘Inside the NBA’?’”

He then answered the question: until next spring.

“Totally my decision,” Johnson said. “It’s just time.”

On ESPN on Thursday evening, Johnson further explained why this was the right time.

“I’ve always prided myself on my preparation, the hours I put in every day getting ready for the next show,” he said. “I’ve always loved that part of my job. But I’ve always vowed that if that ever became more of a challenge than it is a joy, then I’ll know it’s time to step away.”

He also acknowledged a contributing factor: heart issues over the past two years, including bypass surgery 14 months ago.

“I feel great,” he said. But “going through that has made me treasure even more time with my amazing wife of 44 years, Cheryl, and being ‘Poppy’ to our five grandchildren. So I just want to slow down a bit, spend more time enjoying that.”

Technically, he said he’s not retiring entirely from broadcasting, simply cutting back. He plans to cover March Madness for TNT and CBS and started a production company called 32 Bowties geared toward telling feel-good stories in sports.

“So this is by no means the end,” he said. “It’s just the turning of the page.”

A representative for TNT did not immediately respond to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s request for comment.

Johnson has sports in his blood. His father, Ernie Johnson Sr., was a Major League Baseball pitcher in the 1950s and an Atlanta Braves broadcaster for 37 seasons, the same length of time his son will be with “Inside the NBA.”

A University of Georgia graduate, Johnson Jr. was a TV reporter in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and Macon before landing at WSB-TV in 1982 as a general assignment reporter. He was quickly moved to sports until he joined Ted Turner’s new TNT station in 1989.

Johnson was a sideline reporter the first year “Inside the NBA” debuted on TNT, but he was promoted to primary host in 1990.

The show began as a straightforward NBA-focused news program. But when Tim Kiely became executive producer in the mid-1990s, he decided to shake things up.

“I wanted it to be more rough and rugged, like life itself,” Kiely told the AJC in 2019. “If it got messy and we made mistakes, we celebrated that.”

Soon after he arrived, Kiely directed Johnson to do the show without a teleprompter.

“The prompter is a drug or a safety net,” Kiely said. “Once you’re reading, you’re not talking or having a conversation.”

Although Johnson was unhappy by the sudden change and threw a coffee cup across the room in anger after the his first show without the prompter, Kiely said he simply wanted to unleash Johnson’s snarky sense of humor.

“We bought him a coffee cup from the mall saying ‘Going Postal,’” Kiely said. “He still has it.”

As years went by, the show’s popularity kept growing with the additions of Kenny Smith in 1998, Charles Barkley in 2000 and Shaquille O’Neal in 2011. The quartet’s chemistry has been undeniable for 15 years.

Through its entire run, “Inside the NBA” has been shot at Turner Studios in Midtown, weathering five ownership groups: Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner to AT&T to Warner Bros. Discovery to Skydance.

After TNT lost its NBA rights last year, Disney had so much respect for the show’s brand value, it moved “Inside the NBA” over to ESPN, with Skydance continuing to produce the show.

Barkley, on air Wednesday evening after Johnson broke the news, appeared tearful and struggled to get his words out.

“We knew the day was coming,” Barkley said. “It’s still tough. I’ve been here 26, 27 years. It’s been an honor and privilege to work with you all these years.”

“Thank you for being our leader,” he told Johnson.

When people ask Barkley if Johnson is as nice as he seems, he tells them, “He’s better than that.”

Smith stood up and gave Johnson a solo standing ovation. He said when he started working with Johnson after he retired from the NBA, he felt like he was joining a championship team. “And it was because of you, brother,” he added.

O’Neal recalled Johnson interviewing him and his father when he was a young player and remembered just how good he was. “You never pass judgment,” he said. “You’re good on your facts. You’re delightful to watch. … So when you came to my house that day, it did something for me.”