Sports
Deitsch: Charles Barkley loves this too much to retire
One of my favorite assignments as a sports media writer came in 2013 when I rode the C train in New York City with Charles Barkley. The TNT NBA analyst had never ridden on the New York subway before, and some smart Turner Sports PR person came up with the idea to have Barkley take the train from Manhattan to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. “Barkley to Barclays!”
Both the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets were struggling at the time, and as we were on a crowded subway car with New Yorkers excited about seeing the NBA Hall of Famer, Barkley heard a baby crying.
“I’m going to see the Knicks and Nets, so I know exactly how that baby feels,” Barkley joked. The car erupted in laughter. You can watch my very amateur footage of some of the ride here:
Someone who knows him well once told me that Barkley hated to be alone. That line always stayed with me, and I’ve always taken note of the energy he drew from being around people, including in that subway car 10-plus years ago.
I have interviewed Barkley many times, but I don’t want to overstate my insight about him. I don’t know much about his life away from his job. But in all of my interactions with him over more than a dozen years, including once interviewing him in front of nearly 1,000 people at the South By Southwest festival, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him alone. He’s always with someone. If you have never read this story about Barkley and a gentleman named Lin Wang, I think you’ll find it illuminating because it offers insight into Barkley’s desire to be around people.
This is why I don’t think he will leave sports broadcasting.
So, about that. With the conclusion of the NBA Finals on Monday night — a dud of a competitive series and a viewership bust — the focus for the NBA turns to an official completion of its future media rights deal, along with the NBA Draft. But a significant shock tangentially related to the media rights deals came last week following Game 4 of the NBA Finals when Barkley said he would retire from TV after the 2024-25 season regardless of what happens with Warner Bros. Discovery’s NBA media rights negotiations.
“I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT,” Barkley said on NBA TV. “But I have made the decision myself that, no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television.”
Hearing those words, I traveled back in time. The first time Barkley told me he was considering retiring from broadcasting was in 2012, when he said finishing his contract with Turner Sports would be a struggle. He was 49 years old.
“I love my job,” Barkley said then. “I love the people I work with. And I’m going to try to do things to keep me engaged. But I have four years left on my current deal, and to be honest with you, it’s going to be a struggle for me to make it for the whole four years. I really don’t know how much longer I’m going to do this. I need something more, or something else to do.
“I only thought I would do this for three or four years, but now I have been doing it for 13 years. When I got to my fifth year of broadcasting I was like, ‘OK, I’ll do this a couple of more years.’ But now I’m like, ‘Dude, you have been doing this for 13 years,’ and if I make it to the end of the contract, it will be 17 years. Seventeen years is a long time. It’s a lifetime in broadcasting. I personally have to figure out the next challenge for me.”
Charles Barkley, right, on the set with the “NBA on TNT” crew at the 2024 All-Star Game. Their future after next season is uncertain. (Brandon Todd / NBAE via Getty Images)
Fast forward to 2018. The second piece I wrote as a staffer at The Athletic was a long interview with Barkley where he once again placed an end date on his time as a broadcaster.
Deitsch: How many more years do you want to work as a broadcaster?
Barkley: I’m trying to make it to 60 because I still want to be young enough where I can enjoy my life and have fun. That is no disrespect to old people, but I don’t think you are going to be having a lot of fun at 70 or 75. From 60 to 70, I just want to enjoy life.
Deitsch: You have previously told me when we spoke that you were considering quitting broadcasting but you have stuck around. What changed?
Barkley: Well, No. 1, money (laughs). I have a great contract. But I am looking at 60 as the end.
The end did not come at 60. Barkley is now 61. No one I spoke to in sports broadcasting over the weekend, including people who are close to Barkley, believed he would actually retire. One cited his enjoying the spotlight too much. Another said they believed he’d change his mind when someone made it clear how much they wanted him. I spoke to one sports television executive who hires NBA talent who said people who have been in the public spotlight as long as Barkley do not easily give that up. The executive believed Barkley would change his mind. There are also people at WBD who believe something can be worked out with Barkley with or without NBA media rights. TNT put out a statement that kept things open-ended.
“We’re looking forward to another fantastic ‘NBA on TNT’ season and further discussion of our future plans with him,” the statement read.
The NBA season is long and exhausting. The rights deal has been a mess for TNT Sports employees, especially those behind the scenes. WBD CEO David Zaslav, as many have written, has conducted a clinic on how to alienate your potential sports media partner. Barkley sounded tired, to my ears, when he spoke on NBA TV, and he’s clearly been ticked off about the whole process in previous interviews. I don’t think this is a negotiating ploy because he’d have no problem getting paid $15 million to $20 million annually in a future deal. I also think he legitimately meant what he said last week.
But save this prediction: I don’t think it will stick. With rest and a recharge, Barkley will continue on television beyond 2025.
GO DEEPER
Marchand: Charles Barkley says he’s retiring, but this story doesn’t feel over
(Top photo of Charles Barkley in 2016: David Dow / NBAE via Getty Images)
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The PGA Tour has announced that it will not be hosting an event in Hawaii during the 2027 season, ending a 56-year run of holding a tournament in The Aloha State. The change comes as the Tour and CEO Brian Rolapp have consistently teased a revamped schedule beginning next year.
The Tour was forced to cancel The Sentry at the start of the 2026 campaign due to the dying grass on the Plantation Course at Kapalua amid a local dispute with the company responsible for delivering water to the area.
An aerial view of the golf course from over the ocean prior to The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on December 31, 2023 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR)
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With The Sentry being canceled, the Sony Open at Waialae Country on Oahu served as the Tour’s season opener in ‘26, which was won by Chris Gotterup. The event was in the final year of its sponsorship, although the Tour has shared that it is working toward making the event the opening event on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.
Chris Gotterup of the United States celebrates with the trophy on the 18th green after his winning round of the Sony Open in Hawaii 2026 at Waialae Country Club on January 18, 2026 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
The Tour’s removal of The Sentry and the Sony Open wipes out what has now turned into a traditional two-week stretch on the island to begin a new season.
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The PGA Tour did not share further details about the 2027 schedule upon its announcement about leaving Hawaii, but with Sentry reportedly being an event title-sponsor through 2035, it will need to find a new landing spot on the calendar. The logical stop would be Torrey Pines in San Diego, which checks the West Coast and great weather boxes, but the venue is also looking for a new sponsor, as its deal with Farmers Insurance ended in 2026.
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View of the 18th hole is seen during the final round of The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on January 5, 2025 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
The Tour’s decision not to begin next season in Hawaii makes sense, as there are plenty of venues in the lower 48 states that are much easier to operate from, but the departure will have a tremendous financial impact on the state.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that The Sentry is estimated to have a $50 million annual impact on the community, while the Sony Open directly generates an estimated $100 million in revenue per year, plus another $1 million per year to Friends of Hawaii charities.
Martin Dugard is a prolific author and writer. He’s also an assistant cross-country coach at Santa Margarita after being head coach at JSerra for 15 years.
His newest book is “The Long Run,” which discusses the 1970s running boom and is a narrative history of four who sparked the marathon boom: Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Grete Waitz.
He’s going to have a book signing on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 26751 Aliso Creek Rd., Aliso Viejo.
Don’t be surprised if he tries to run from Rancho Santa Margarita to his book signing.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
For years, Stephen A. Smith’s many football blunders have been easy enough to explain away.
He’s not an NFL guy (remember when he said the three key players for a game were three guys who weren’t playing in the game?)
Stephen A. Smith falsely claimed the Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since 2022, but Golden State reached the second round in both 2023 and 2025. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)
He’s definitely not a college football guy (remember when he called Jalen Milroe Jalen “Milroy” multiple times and then read the wrong stat line after a College Football Playoff game?).
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ESPN forces him into those conversations because First Take has to talk football, and Smith knows that football is the most popular sport in the country and he needs to be seen as an authority (even though he isn’t).
But Monday’s latest mistake is a lot tougher to excuse, because this time Smith wasn’t talking about the NFL or college football. He was talking about the Golden State Warriors, one of the defining NBA dynasties of the last decade.
In other words, he was talking about the sport and the league that’s supposed to be his bread and butter.
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While discussing whether Steve Kerr has coached his last game with Golden State, Smith confidently stated the Warriors “haven’t been back to the playoffs since that championship in 2022.”
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr looks on during a game against the Sacramento Kings. (Robert Edwards/Imagn Images)
That’s not even close to true. Not only did Golden State make the playoffs last season, but they also reached the postseason in 2023. Last year, the Warriors made the playoffs, beat the Rockets in seven games and advanced to the second round before losing to the Timberwolves. In 2023, they beat the Sacramento Kings in the first round and before losing to the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.
So, Smith wouldn’t even have been right if he said they haven’t won a playoff series since 2022. But he didn’t say that. He said they didn’t make the playoffs in any of the past four years, except they did it twice.
Yikes.
This is not an obscure piece of NBA trivia that Smith could be easily forgiven for not knowing. Perhaps he was too busy playing solitaire on his phone and just missed two of the past three NBA postseasons. That’s a tough look for the guy who fancies himself as the No. 1 NBA analyst in the country.
And it’s a terrible look for ESPN, as they keep selling Smith as one of the faces of their NBA coverage.
Stephen A. Smith made a brutal gaffe while talking Warriors playoff history
If Smith made this kind of mistake while talking about the NFL, nobody would be shocked. At this point, sports fans practically expect him to butcher football analysis. It’s almost endearing that a guy with the ego of Smith can be so consistently wrong while also delivering every “fact” with the utmost confidence. It’s part of the Stephen A. experience.
But this one hits differently because the NBA is where he’s supposed to at least know the basics. This is where Smith prides himself as being an authority figure.
Stephen A. Smith incorrectly stated the Golden State Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since their 2022 championship, despite the team reaching the postseason twice since then. (Candice Ward/Imagn Images)
And yet he couldn’t keep the recent playoff history of the Warriors straight. The team whose head coach is in the news every other week. The team that has won four championships since 2014. Arguably one of the most important franchises in the NBA over the past 15 years.
Yes, Golden State missed the playoffs in 2024 after getting bounced in the Play-In Tournament (although they won 46 games that season). And yes, it fell short again this season. But that’s a lot different from acting like Steve Kerr has spent four years wandering the basketball wilderness since winning that 2022 title.
He hasn’t. In fact, the team is 175-153 in the past four regular seasons.
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The Warriors made the second round in 2023. They made the second round again in 2025.
Before burying Steve Kerr on national television, maybe Stephen A. Smith could take 10 seconds to confirm whether the Warriors were actually, you know, in the playoffs.
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