Ernie Johnson on the Exhilaration of the Playoffs and Why Charles Barkley Is “as Soft as They Come”

Photograph: Getty Images; Collage: Gabe Conte

Few faces are more ubiquitous in the lives of basketball fans than that of Ernie Johnson, the host of TNT’s inimitable Inside the NBA. This is good for us (he’s consistently excellent), but it’s a pretty good deal for Johnson, too. Sitting at a desk talking basketball—or “hoop,” as he calls it—with Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith affords him a front row seat to not only the greatest sports talk show on the air, but also to some gut-busting laughs.

Johnson, 67, has been at this for more than three decades, delivering incisive analysis and neat-o stats while also often playing the straight man to Shaq and Chuck’s comedy routines. All the while, he’s done so with a signature style, sporting bow ties and sneakers.

This time of year is a wild one for Johnson and the entire Inside the NBA crew, working just about every night until the Finals. In the middle of this year’s first round, he found time to fill us in on what his typical work day requires, bask in the one-of-a-kind wonder of Nikola Jokic, and describe what it’s like to hit the town with Shaq and the Chuckster.

How would you describe your emotional state when the playoffs roll around? Are you energized by it? Exhausted? All of the above?

It’s actually March and April both, and part of February. We go from the NBA All-Star Game into March Madness. The time in between the college basketball championship game and the start of the playoffs is really about a week. Springtime can be a blur. March Madness is really a lot of work, and then we’re basically working every night—with the occasional Friday off—during the playoffs.

But this is the time of year you live for! You don’t have any of those early-January games that might not mean a whole lot. Those are kind of the dog days. Now, these games are so intense, and so far they’ve been so good. So we love this time of year.

You don’t miss the relative tranquility of the regular season?

No, no, no. You love it when the games all mean something. You can see the effort level rise up. The doubleheader we had the other night? [Note: Johnson is referring to the 76ers-Knicks, Lakers-Nuggets twin billing on April 22, in which both games were decided by game-winning shots in the final seconds.] I’ve been sitting in this chair as host of Inside the NBA since the 1990-91 season. We’re talking 35 years. That was the best doubleheader we ever had. The way that Knicks-Sixers game ended, then to be followed up by Jamal Murray and a 20-point comeback for the Nuggets? Those were awesome. Those are the kinds of nights you hope you get. Two of those in one night? Tremendous.

What’s the vibe like in the studio on a night like that?

As you would expect, it’s just like our show, and our show is like four guys sitting around a living room watching a game. You don’t rehearse it; you’re reacting. Especially in those last few minutes when everybody is getting ready for the show to happen and you’re watching things unfold, we’re just like fans. We’re fans of good games. We don’t pull for any teams. You love compelling basketball, great stories, and witnessing things that sometimes defy description.

You mentioned that something you love about the playoffs is feeling the effort and intensity go up a level. Do you feel that from Shaq, Charles, and Kenny as well? Not that they’re dogging it in the regular season!

[laughing] Oh, sure. Let’s be real about it. There are times in the regular season where the games don’t mean as much. There’s still a long way to go and the matchups might be less than attractive, but you’re working your way through that and you’ve got a postgame show at 1:30 in the morning.

But these nights? They all mean so much more. It dials everyone in. Everybody’s focus is so sharpened because you’re not dealing with 30 teams anymore. The show is always a lot of fun, but it’s even more fun when you have good games to talk about. That’s where those guys shine.

I don’t think people fully realize how late you’re working. What time do you normally get home after a show?

Well, I live 45 minutes outside the city. I’ll pull back into the house at 2:30 a.m. or so. The challenge during the playoffs is the fact that I have a game day routine and know what I need to do to prepare. I try to work a day ahead, at least. For me to do that, I want to get into the studio by noon. We’re not on the air until 7:00, but we have a production meeting three hours beforehand. I need to be sitting down to update these numbers and read these articles and look at the format of the show. That’s a quick turnaround. You maybe get to sleep by 3 a.m. Then you get up at 9, and you’re in there by noon. That’s the grind of the playoffs.

But…they’re paying us to watch hoop! I get to sit there with a couple of Hall of Famers and champions and watch basketball. That’s not exactly hard labor, and it’s true for March Madness, too. I always tell Kenny and Chuck, even when we’re looking at really long days, “Look, if your boss came to you and said, ‘All I want you to do today is watch the tournament,’ you’d probably sign up for that!”

I tell this to journalism students all the time when I guest lecture, which I love to do. Doing the show is the easy part! It’s all the prep. As long as you’re willing to do all that prep that gets you ready for that night, there’s nothing more fun than sitting around, watching and talking hoop with these guys. Once the game starts, you’re just watching a game!

What are your strategies for staying awake and alert? Do you have coffee in your mug at the studio desk?

You know what? I’ve conditioned myself because I stay up a lot when we’re not working. I keep a daily log of the NBA. I’ve been doing it forever, this kind of ritual: I keep box scores from every night. Every game that’s played during the year, I have notes on. Who scored what? Who got hurt? Who had a triple-double? That sort of stuff. A lot of nights, I’ll be sitting here at my office at home watching a west coast game, making my notes, and going to bed at 2:30. Staying up is not an issue for me. It’s not like once it gets past midnight I’m in old man mode.

If I lived five minutes from the studio I wouldn’t be able to just go home and go to sleep. I’m too wired up. I actually use that 45-minute drive home as a way to unwind. The only thing you’re looking for there is a bored police officer who's like, “This guy’s doing 71. Let’s talk to him!” There are so few cars at that time that you’re the only one they’re looking for. But that’s why they make cruise control and Audible.

Have you been pulled over after a show?

There was one night after a playoff game, several years ago. I wasn’t paying attention. But of course, even with all my influence, I was not able to talk my way out of it. It was my luck to get pulled over by a guy who didn’t like basketball. There was no recognition in his eyes at all. Just, you’re a speeder and I need your license.

Which of these first-round series has piqued your interest the most?

Philly-New York is the one that leaps out, just because it’s so intense. You saw the scene at the Wells Fargo Center, which ticked Charles off because there were so many Knick fans in Philly! There were times when a roar goes up, and if you’re just listening to the crowd you’d think Philly had scored—but no, it was [Knicks guard Donte] DiVincenzo hitting a three.

I love that series. The proximity of the teams, division rivals, fan bases that are just rabid. In the East, that’s the one that grabs my attention the most. Out West, I think the Denver-Laker series. Going in, I thought it would really take something for anyone in the NBA to beat Denver four times. The Lakers went up by double digits three times against this bunch and lost every time.

It’s hard to think of many units that play as well together as the Denver starting five does.

I think about those really good Golden State teams. It could be a 12-point game with three and a half minutes left. Suddenly, they go 15-1 on you before you even knew what happened. Those San Antonio championship teams were so solid, so fundamental, and so poised. You never saw any panic at all. That’s kind of what you saw from the first three games of the Denver-Laker series. The Nuggets would fall behind, and it’s, Okay, we can make this up. Don’t worry. And they did it every time!

I don’t think Jokic has panicked about anything in his life.

You’re right! You would think with that kind of on-ball pressure—I would give that ball up in a second! He just holds it up for a second, looks around. Oh, this guy’s open.

Do you have any non-basketball hobbies? What are you doing with yourself during the offseason?

Love to hit the golf ball. But it does have a way of pulling you in and not letting go. Depending on my schedule, there are some times where I’ll get out and play several times a week. But then, during times like this where it’s so nice and it’d be great to get out, I’m working on hoop. I can hear my golf clubs whispering to me from the garage. Remember us?

The escapes are golf and grandkids. I’ve got five grandkids and they all live within 45 minutes of me. That has been the world’s most wonderful blessing. Chuck used to give me such a hard time, [but] now he’s got two and he knows exactly what I’m talking about! We were in a commercial break the other night and he was FaceTiming his daughter while his grandson took a bath. He was showing his phone to me, Shaq, and Kenny. This is the guy who told me he was tired of hearing about my grandkids!

Also, all the guys give me trouble on this: Just birds. We’ve got bird feeders all over the place. I love watching birds and taking pictures of them. Golf, grandkids, birds, there you go.

Charles Barkley, famously a guy who threw someone through a window, now you’re saying he’s gone soft?

He’s as soft as they come, man.

You’ve spent countless hours around these guys now. What’s it like being in public with them?

Everybody handles it really well. You can lose sight of the fact sometimes that for Charles and Shaq both—and this is no slight on Kenny, obviously folks recognize all of us—but for Charles and Shaq, you can’t walk outside. You know that going in. If you need to go to the drugstore to pick something up, you’re probably going to have to take 15 to 20 pictures. That’s a lot to deal with, but they all handle it so well.

Without the fans, what are we going to be doing? We’re in such a great position, having a show that people have really gravitated to. That’s one of the things I like best about going on the road, being able to see people face-to-face and say thanks for watching. I’m 6’2”, size 15 shoes. When I meet people in public, I always want to say hey, and people will go, “You’re taller than I thought!” It’s because I’m always standing next to Shaq. People expect me to show up looking like I’m 5’1”.

It’s not like when we’re on the road we’re all hanging out together every moment. Okay, the show’s over. Let’s all go back to our room where we’re sharing bunk beds! But you know what’s funny? During March Madness, we’ll come out of the studio in New York, and there will be 20 folks out there wanting stuff signed. If Chuck doesn’t get to everyone, we’ve seen these people sprint to our hotel five blocks away. It’s a wonderful scene.

With the type of show that you make and the relationship you’ve cultivated with the fans, I imagine a lot of them feel like they know you and the guys personally. As someone who knows them better than most, what are some of the general public’s misconceptions about Shaq, Charles, and Kenny?

I think what fans realize when they see us in their city is how genuine these guys are and how much we enjoy being around each other. It’s not some show where it’s like, “Hey, we’re going to be visible to the public now, so everyone act like you like one another.” We love each other! That may sound corny, but we do. This is as close as I’ll ever come to having brothers. Any of us would do absolutely anything for the others. What you see is a genuine affection for each other.

We love poking fun at each other. This is not a job to have if you’ve got thin skin. You’re gonna take some shots, and you’re gonna deliver some shots. It’s all in fun. It’s that whole guys in the living room dynamic. If someone shows up and they’ve got a stain on their suit because they spilled something at dinner, we’re not going to ignore that! We’ll start the show with that! This is who we are, we’re going to make mistakes. Kenny ran to the board one night and almost revealed a little too much of his backside. Did we ignore that? No, we rode that for the rest of the night. That’s how we operate.

One misconception is that people think we’re pulling for certain teams. You want so and so to win. You hate this team. No, we don’t! We want compelling stuff. Sure, these guys are paid to give their opinion, so sometimes you pick a team to win a series. It’s not because you don’t like the other team, it’s because you looked at the numbers and think they’re going to win. So, don’t get that twisted. We’re rooting for good games.

Bringing your own personal style to television has also made you one of the nation’s most prominent bow tie guys. Have you always been a bow tie guy?

No! I was trying to think of the year, but I think it’s safe to say it’s been at least a dozen years that I’ve exclusively worn bow ties. It really just happened one night where we had a Christmas party at our house. I went out and bought a Christmas bow tie and decided I’d figure out how to tie it. I went online, and it took me 35-45 minutes to figure it out. My wife finally stepped in.

I said, “I might wear one of these on the air.” I did the next week, and bought three bow ties. I had been wearing standard ties all my life, but chose to go in that direction. Looking back on those days, I was such a terrible tier of the ties. They would be really wide, and I’d get all the typical feedback. Orville Redenbacher. Pee Wee Herman. All that stuff.

But I just stuck with it. And the more ties I got, the more comfortable I got. In fact, I just got a shipment in today. I can tie a bow tie now in 30 seconds. I do not owe a standard tie anymore. Those are all gone, given away, or donated. I’m a big fan of Beau Ties of Vermont. There’s a place in New York called Seigo. I’m just very comfortable with it, and I had gotten tired of wearing a regular tie for fifty something years. In my closet right now, there’s probably 90 to 95 bow ties. I’m trying to keep it as fresh as I can.

What about sneakers? I know you’ve got quite the collection there, as well.

We’ve had such a long relationship with Nike and Jordan. For a long time, they would just send us shoes. I didn’t know when I’d ever wear basketball shoes, but one night I thought these shoes would look good with this suit. Now that’s all I do, whether it’s 11’s, 3’s, whatever. I didn’t really know much about them, but people would look and go, “You’ve got the 11’s!” I’ve got what? “The Jordan 11’s!” I like these and just think they look good! It all goes back to David Corbitt, the guy who makes my suits. He’s got a spot, Bespoke Apparel in St. Louis. He and I met back in like ‘98. He’s done clothes for Muhammad Ali, Deion Sanders, the St. Louis Blues, and somehow he finds time for me. He’s awesome.

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We lost our son Michael a couple years ago to muscular dystrophy. He was a Romanian orphan that we adopted, and his favorite thing to say was, “Love you too.” That I love you sign [thumb, pointer finger, and pinky extended] became really important for our family. Michael passes, David makes a suit for me, and the lining is all I love you signs. The pinstripes were all “Love you too” in script. That’s why, after 25 years, I can’t imagine dealing with anyone else.

I wanted to end on something that I’m sure you’ve been asked about. Growing up, I thought you might have been Black. There’s something about you that made me think you were light-skinned or mixed race. How often do you hear that?

I’ve seen it a lot on social media. Ernie is always invited to the BBQ. I love that! Charles will say, “This is the whitest dude I know. He likes to watch birds!” It’s funny you bring it up, because that was a question that was posed many times in past years, so I addressed it on the air one night. Charles was like, [does an incredible Charles Barkley voice] “Man, can you believe somebody’s asking if you’re Black or if you’re white?” I said, just turn the camera on me. Is Ernie Johnson Black or white?...Yes. Then we went to break.

Originally Appeared on GQ