But while it was a night of celebration, it was also an emotional night as TNT said goodbye to its iconic show, Inside the NBA. At the end of the broadcast, host Ernie Johnson delivered a heartfelt send-off to the TNT viewers as the show prepares for its second act next season on ESPN.

The run of “Inside the NBA” on TNT came to an end on Saturday night after nearly four decades as a fixture of the league. The show will move to ESPN and ABC next season — and keep Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley together, still doing most shows from Atlanta — but the final TNT sign-off was an emotional one.

One of the biggest NBA stories of the year had nothing to do with the sport of basketball itself, but the broadcast coverage of it: specifically, the