For Charles Barkley, this prediction is vital: He loves the sport an excessive amount of to retire

One of my favorite assignments as a sportswriter got here in 2013 after I rode the C train through New York City with Charles Barkley. The TNT NBA analyst had never ridden the New York subway before, and a sensible PR guy from Turner Sports got here up with the concept of ​​having Barkley ride the train from Manhattan to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. “Barkley to Barclays!”

Both the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets were in trouble on the time, and as we sat in a crowded subway automotive stuffed with New Yorkers excited to see the NBA Hall of Famer, Barkley heard a baby crying.

“I'm going to watch the Knicks and Nets, so I know exactly how the baby feels,” Barkley joked. Laughter erupted within the automotive. You can try my very amateur footage of the trip here:

Someone who knows him well once told me that Barkley hated being alone. That statement has all the time stuck with me, and I've all the time noticed the energy he drew from being around people, including on that subway automotive over 10 years ago.

I've interviewed Barkley again and again, but I don't wish to overstate what I find out about him. I don't know much about his life outside of his job. But in all my interactions with him over a dozen years, including an interview in front of nearly 1,000 people at South By Southwest, I don't think I've ever seen him alone. He's all the time with someone. If you may have never read this story about Barkley and a gentleman named Lin WangI feel you'll find it insightful since it offers insight into Barkley's desire to be around people.

For this reason, I don't think he’ll quit sports reporting.

So, to that. With the conclusion of the NBA Finals on Monday evening – a defeat of a hard-fought series and a collapse in audience numbers — the NBA's focus is on officially finalizing its future media rights deal in addition to the NBA Draft. But last week, there was a major shock after Game 4 of the NBA Finals that also not directly pertains to the media rights deals, when Barkley said he would retire from television after the 2024-25 season, no matter what happens with Warner Bros. Discovery's NBA media rights negotiations.

“I'm not going anywhere but TNT,” Barkley said on NBA TV. “But I made the decision myself that next year, no matter what happens, will be my last year on television.”

When I heard 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 it could be difficult to satisfy his contract with Turner Sports. He was 49 years old.

“I love my job,” Barkley said on the time. “I love the people I work with. And I'm going to try to do things that keep me going. But my current contract has four years left, and to be honest, it's going to be a struggle for me to make it through the full four years. I really don't know how much longer I'm going to do this. I need more or something else to do.”

“I thought I'd only do this for three or four years, but now I've been doing it for 13 years. When I started my fifth year in broadcasting, I thought, 'OK, I'll do this for a couple more years.' But now I think, 'Dude, you've been doing this for 13 years,' and if I make it to the end of my contract, it'll be 17 years. Seventeen years is a long time. In broadcasting, that's a lifetime. Personally, I have to figure out what the next challenge is for me.”

Fast forward to 2018. The second piece I wrote as a staff author was a protracted interview with Barkley during which he again set an end date for his time as a broadcaster.

German: How many more years would you prefer to work as a moderator?

Barkley: I'm attempting to live to 60 because I need to be young enough to enjoy life and rejoice. This isn’t any disrespect to old people, but I don't think you'll have much fun at 70 or 75. From 60 to 70 I just wish to enjoy life.

German: You told me in our previous conversation that you simply considered giving up broadcasting, but you stayed. What has modified?

Barkley: Well, No. 1, money. I even have an incredible contract. But I'm retiring at 60.

The end didn't come at 60. Barkley is now 61. No one I spoke to in sports coverage over the weekend, including people near Barkley, believed he would actually retire. One suggested he was having fun with the highlight an excessive amount of. Another said they believed he would change his mind if someone made it clear how much they wanted him. I spoke to a sports television executive who hires NBA talent who said individuals who have been within the highlight so long as Barkley has don't give it up easily. The executive believed Barkley would change his mind. There are also people at WBD who imagine something may be worked out with Barkley, with or without NBA media rights. TNT issued an announcement leaving things open.

“We look forward to another fantastic season of NBA on TNT and to continuing to discuss our future plans with him,” the statement said.

The NBA season is long and tiring. The rights deal has been a multitude for TNT Sports employees, especially those behind the scenes. WBD CEO David Zaslav, as many have written, has been holding a training session on the way to scare away your potential sports media partner. Barkley sounded drained to me when he spoke on NBA TV, and he has clearly been upset concerning the whole process in previous interviews. I don't think it is a negotiating ploy, as he would don’t have any problem getting $15-20 million annually in a future contract. I also imagine he really meant what he said last week.

But keep this prediction to yourself: I don't think it should stop there. With some rest and renewed energy, Barkley will remain on TV beyond 2025.