“That’s the best ever” - Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith in splits as TNT set gets new ‘surprise’ addition 

Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith had huge smiles to offer after TNT added a surprise as part of "Inside the NBA." The big board that the analysts use now has easy access to get to with a stair lift added as part of the sets.

The announcement was made by Ernie Johnson in a segment that also had Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green on the guest panel. The panel usually has a race to get to the board, but the latest segment had no such activity.

Instead, Johnson introduced the crew to a stair lift, much to Smith's delight, as both he and Barkley roared with laughter.

"That's the best ever"

This comes on the back of Smith's incident of tripping while rushing the stairs in one of the earlier episodes a few weeks ago. Known for his smooth style during his NBA career, the analyst looked far from smooth during the halftime break of the LA Lakers-Denver Nuggets first-round matchup.

He bounced out of his seat to run to the video board, only to tumble after taking a step. The good news was that he was unhurt, but clearly, the incident had everyone in splits, most of all Charles Barkley.

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Charles Barkley gets candid on the fate of 'Inside the NBA'

Former NBA star Charles Barkley is still optimistic that there is a chance that Warner Bros. Discovery hangs on to its NBA rights and Inside the NBA remains a key fixture on TNT. He added that the show's crew is "scared to death" about the future.

“We have zero idea what’s going to happen. We might lose it … it is flat-out brutal, everybody’s scared to death. It’s 50-50 that we lose our part to NBC,” Barkley said. “Am I concerned? 100%, because as much as we have been partners with the NBA for I think 40 years, you would think if it was close in a bidding war, we would get the benefit of the doubt, but clearly that’s not happening … they’re scared to death over here right now.”

If TNT indeed loses NBA rights, the ramifications include producers and technical staff losing their jobs. But for now, there's enough work that the crew and the analysts will focus on. With the 2024 WNBA season underway, and the playoffs going on, there's enough content from TNT coming in to keep the show going.