NBA on TNT Tonight: Full Schedule, Live-Stream Details & Shaq-Barkley Breakdown

For more than three decades “NBA on TNT” has been appointment viewing for basketball fans, but that era is set to sunset after the 2024-25 season. The NBA’s freshly announced 11-year, $76 billion media-rights agreement with Disney/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime Video excludes Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports, ending a 36-year partnership that began in 1989. What will change for viewers • Regular-season doubleheaders branded “NBA on TNT” will disappear beginning with the 2025-26 campaign, shifting marquee Thursday games to NBC and Amazon streams. • Playoff coverage—including the popular “Players Only” broadcasts and first-round exclusives—will be reallocated; NBC is expected to air weekend tripleheaders while Amazon gains week-night slates. • The beloved studio show “Inside the NBA,” starring Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, is contracted through 2025. ESPN and NBC have already signaled interest in picking up the entire cast, but Warner Bros. Discovery retains the intellectual-property rights, complicating negotiations. Why the NBA moved on • The new package triples annual rights fees—from roughly $2.6 billion to $7 billion—by adding a third partner and carving out a dedicated streaming tier with Amazon, something TNT could not match financially. • NBC re-entered the bidding with aggressive cross-platform promises: 100+ games on Peacock, a prime-time “Basketball Night in America” and extensive Olympic tie-ins, all viewed by the league as growth engines for global reach. Impact on TNT Sports Warner Bros. Discovery executives insist the network will remain a premium live-sports destination anchored by the NHL, NCAA men’s basketball, MLB postseason and the new NASCAR deal, but analysts project a primetime ratings drop of up to 25 percent once “NBA on TNT” disappears. Fan takeaway If you love Thursday night banter from Barkley and crew, the 2024-25 season will be your last guaranteed chance to see it on TNT. Expect NBC to revive its ’90s-era “Roundball Rock” theme, Amazon to experiment with alternate broadcasts, and a fierce bidding war for “Inside the NBA.” For now, set your reminders: every remaining “NBA on TNT” broadcast is suddenly must-see TV.