TNT’s Inside the NBA is a wild show. But, like, the hilarious kind of wild. Or, the “watch Shaq and Charles argue about this dumb shit” wild. The 15-time Sports Emmy Award winning show is not really known for wild animals. But there’s a first time for everything, I guess.
Before Game 2 of Suns — Nuggets the usual suspects were selecting their picks. Charles Barkley was up next. “I’m going with the Nuggets [+6],” Chuck said, definitively. “I feel good about it.”
“How good do you feel about it?” Inside host Ernie Johnson asked. There was no verbal answer. Just Barkley pressing his guarantee button.
Then it got wild. Literally.
We’ve got a person on a unicycle, a circus duo lifting each other up, someone on stilts, and a hula hooper. But you probably missed all of that because there’s also a gigantic snake on set.
When Sir Charles saw the reptile, the only words I could hear out of him were “Oh hell.” I wouldn’t be surprised if TNT had to mute his mic for a few moments.
Then, it looked like Chuck and Shaq were posing for prom. “This ain’t nothing to joke about,” Barkley told his broadcast partner. “I’m not touching no snake, man!”
Oh, and that creepy clown music you hear, good luck getting that tune out of your head!
It wasn’t a great night for Chuck all in all. After facing his fears during the pregame tip-off show, he lost another guarantee bet of the week. Phoenix blew out the Nuggets, giving the Suns a commanding 2-0 lead, and bringing Barkley’s guarantee record to 4-9 for the playoffs.
That’s just turrible.