Basketball fans may have to savour Inside the NBA while they can, with the much loved show likely to look very different in a year’s time.Fronted by star-powered quartet of Ernie Johnson, Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, and Charles Barkley, the iconic ESPN show is set to undergo significant change after the 2026-27 season.Inside the NBA is one of the most beloved basketball shows on TVGettyHaving started life on TNT, the show switched to ESPN after TNT lost its media rights deal in a blockbuster $76 billion TV deal.Johnson, Smith, O’Neal and Barkley have built an incredibly chemistry as they have served audiences together for over two decades, but their time as a collective looks to be nearing a conclusion.This follows Barkley’s recent admission that he is considering retirement after the 2026-27 NBA season, with Johnson also looking to already have one foot out of the exit door. Although Barkley, who is arguably one of the greatest players to never win a championship ring, has threatened retirement on several occasions before, the 63-year-old doubled down on his intentions to give just one more season to Inside the NBA.So that beckons the question: Who would be an adequate replacement? Barkley was asked that question and named a former on-court rival as his preferred replacement.Barkley identifies Jalen Rose as his preferred replacement“I think Draymond [Green] would do a good job,” Barkley admitted to BetMGM Gameday Live on Westwood One Sports on Sunday. “I like Draymond, but Jalen Rose is fantastic. “He’s substituted for us sometimes, Jalen Rose is unbelievable, Vince Carter is unbelievable. … “But Jalen Rose to me, would be the perfect guy because he’s done the most with us.”Rose enjoyed a 13-year career in the NBA split among six teams, but is most remembered for his six-season tenure with the Indiana Pacers. Barkley and Ernie Johnson have become beloved sports media figures but both could be heading toward retirementGettyJalen Rose has regularly filled in on Inside the NBA in the pastGettyWarriors star Green has addressed the possibility of succeeding a figure like BarkleyGettyFollowing his retirement in 2007, the 53-year-old worked at ABC and ESPN, working on shows including SportsCenter and NBA Countdown, until he was laid off by the network in 2023. He made his return to TV a year later, joining NBC Sports to serve as a college basketball analyst, and also works as a commentator on CBS Sports for March Madness. He has also made several guest appearances on Inside the NBA over the years, so if he were to be recruited to the show as Barkley’s replacement, it wouldn’t exactly be entirely novel to him. But Golden State Warriors star Green has also joined Inside the NBA for guest appearances, and has expressed in the past that when his playing career is all overhe would want to make a transition into the media.However the four-time NBA champion knows that nobody can replace a character like Barkley like-for-like.“It’s not my place or role to say, like, yeah, that’s the seat I’m filling,” Green said to Front Office Sports. “I just don’t make that decision. “You know, Charles Barkley is a legend. So to even think that you’re filling his seat, I think that’s a grave mistake. “You never replace superstars in the NBA. Michael Jordan still hasn’t been replaced in Chicago some 30 years later. “You don’t replace greatness. You don’t replace GOATs.”