Ernie Johnson to Exit 'Inside the NBA' After 2026-27 Season at 70

Q: With Johnson staying in broadcasting but leaving the desk, who becomes the next face of Inside the NBA on ESPN and ABC?

No successor has been announced, and right now there is no confirmed “next face” of *Inside the NBA* on ESPN and ABC. The show will continue through the 2026-27 season with Ernie Johnson hosting, alongside Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. After that, ESPN and TNT Sports have not publicly named a replacement for Johnson at the desk. The available reporting points more to uncertainty than a transition plan. That uncertainty is heightened by Barkley’s own comments that he and Johnson are “a package deal” and that, unless Johnson changed his mind, this season would also be Barkley’s last. If Barkley follows through, ESPN may be replacing more than just the host, which could reshape the show rather than simply installing one new lead figure. Among the remaining core cast, Kenny Smith is the most natural internal candidate to take on a larger role, but there is no official indication he will become host. Shaquille O’Neal also remains a major on-air presence, though not as the traditional traffic-cop moderator Johnson has been. ESPN’s broader NBA studio lineup includes Malika Andrews on *NBA Countdown* and *NBA Today*, but there has been no announcement tying her to *Inside the NBA*. So the accurate answer is that Johnson’s replacement — and the future face of *Inside the NBA* on ESPN/ABC — has not yet been decided publicly.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 28

Johnson said Wednesday that the 2026-27 campaign will be his final season on "Inside the NBA," ending a 37-year run on the studio show.
A 70-year-old Johnson said heart issues, including bypass surgery 14 months ago, and the grind of preparing for each show pushed him to slow down and spend more time with family.
He said the move is not a full retirement from broadcasting: he plans to keep working on March Madness and other TNT and CBS projects through his new production company, 32 Bow Ties.
The departure adds to a broader transition for the program, with Charles Barkley also saying last month that 2026-27 will be his last season.