‘Inside the NBA’ postgame to run as long as TNT wants for Eastern Conference Finals on ESPN

The New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers will tip off the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday, and Inside the NBA will be ready to take viewers into the wee hours of the night, if its producers choose to do so.

As NBA fans well know by now, ESPN began licensing the popular NBA studio show from TNT starting this season. The arrangement has been met with complaints by some that Inside the NBA doesn’t have as much room to stretch its legs as it once did on TNT. That shouldn’t be a problem now that the rubber is meeting the road this postseason.

According to a report by Ryan Glasspiegel in Front Office Sports, Inside the NBA will air for “as long as TNT’s producers decide” during the Eastern Conference Finals, noting that ESPN has allotted a one-hour window for the show following each game, but the show can be extended “at TNT’s discretion.” For Game 3, which is scheduled to air on ABC, Inside will air its first half-hour on the broadcast network before transitioning over to ESPN.

In addition to the undefined length of the postgame coverage, the crew of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith will have hour-long pregame shows before each game, with the exception of Game 3 on ABC. Draymond Green will also reportedly make two guest appearances during the series.

Though some fans have criticized Inside the NBA this year for running shorter than it previously did on TNT, ESPN has reiterated that, even during the regular season, the show’s length is determined solely by the TNT producers. As part of the licensing agreement struck in 2024, when TNT officially lost its bid for NBA rights, TNT retained full creative control over the show.

The Eastern Conference Finals will be the last series Inside will broadcast from its Atlanta studios; the show will hit the road for the NBA Finals, which will be the first time the entire cast will cover the Finals together.