I watch Inside the NBA almost religiously - it's such a perfect show sometimes.
It's not your typical ESPN or Fox Sports commentary show where an anchor talks about a player's "tenacious tenacity". It's a show that presents itself as a place where four friends talk about a shared interest.
To accomplish this, they need to be comfortable talking to each other without being confined to the sports equivalent of political correctness - to have unconstrained degrees of freedom in criticism, humor and general skylarking. This happens oftentimes to the point of controversy, with Charles usually being involved at the center of any such controversy.
This story is beautiful, but to anyone that is a fan of Charles Barkley, it is unsurprising. He's always been a beacon of genuineness through his time as a player, as a commentator and this article simply extends that same light to his personal life.
> actual chemistry seems really undervalued / rare these days.
It's because they are almost always forced board-room designed politically correct arrangements of hosts: the old white guy with plenty of industry experience, the sassy girl who keeps the guys in check, and third is usually an ex-athlete (usually black) guy OR (more often on radio) the "wild and crazy" guy who says wacky stuff.
They aren't chosen for their chemistry together, existing friendships, or w/e else makes people gel... but instead for fitting some Hollywood-esque pre-existing model that checks off all the checkboxes.
NBA inside works because they have a couple of rare personalities you wouldnt normally find in the usual talking-head talent pools with Shaq and Barkley plus a really great "old industry experienced guy" Ernie Johnson... (and honourable mention neutral guy Kenny Smith).
It's not your typical ESPN or Fox Sports commentary show where an anchor talks about a player's "tenacious tenacity". It's a show that presents itself as a place where four friends talk about a shared interest.
To accomplish this, they need to be comfortable talking to each other without being confined to the sports equivalent of political correctness - to have unconstrained degrees of freedom in criticism, humor and general skylarking. This happens oftentimes to the point of controversy, with Charles usually being involved at the center of any such controversy.
This story is beautiful, but to anyone that is a fan of Charles Barkley, it is unsurprising. He's always been a beacon of genuineness through his time as a player, as a commentator and this article simply extends that same light to his personal life.