Charles Barkley reveals reason why Kobe Bryant would not have fit on 'Inside the NBA': "Nobody wants to be damn serious"

Charles Barkley said last year that Kobe Bryant had signed with TNT to become part of Inside the NBA before backing out. Barkley further explained that it was the right move for Bryant at the time, as he might not have been a good fit on the show.

In a recent appearance on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, Barkley discussed why the LA Lakers legend would not have fit on Inside the NBA. The Hall of Fame forward thought that Kobe's seriousness would have been a problem.

"I don't think his personality, I don't think he was built to have a lot of fun," Barkley said. "I don't know if he was built to have fun. He was a great person. I liked him, rest in peace. But he was a real serious guy.

"And the problem you have, if you're gonna do our show, I don't think people understand, we're on from seven to two in the morning. Nobody wants to be damn serious from seven to two in the morning." (h/t Awful Announcing)

Kobe Bryant was known for his insane work ethic and top-level competitiveness. Bryant was focused on his body of work more than anything, which helped him win five NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVPs, one NBA MVP and two Olympic gold medals.

There was a perception that Bryant was a serious guy who didn't like to have fun. However, there have been moments during his career when he had funny interactions on and off the court.

Fans also got to see more of Bryant's personality after he retired. He was smiling more and having a lot of fun in interviews and other public activities. He was enjoying life after the NBA, especially helping his daughter Gigi with her budding youth basketball career.

However, that stopped suddenly when Kobe, Gigi and seven others died in an unfortunate helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020.

---

Kobe Bryant reportedly signed a deal with TNT before backing out

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers

Charles Barkley revealed on The Draymond Green Show that Kobe Bryant had signed a contract with TNT. However, Bryant backed out at the last minute, as he didn't want to do any public relations work to promote the show.

"We hired Kobe Bryant at Turner, but he didn't want to do all the other B.S.," Barkley said. "And I'm probably going to get in trouble for saying this because this is one of the little things we keep with us, but he signed with us.

"But we started telling him like, 'You know, you have to do many radio shows. Hey, you've got to go on this show from Thursday night at TNT, the same thing on Tuesday, same thing on Wednesday.' He was like, 'Hey, I don't want to do all that stuff.'" (h/t Basketball Network)