Ernie Johnson Jr. leaving as host of ‘Inside the NBA’ after this season

Hall of Fame sportscaster Ernie Johnson Jr. announced that he will step away as host of “Inside the NBA” after this season, his 37th with the program.

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Johnson said it was his decision to leave the show, adding that since he recently turned 70, “it’s just time.”

He added that he would continue to work, noting that he would broadcast the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for CBS and Turner Sports, ESPN reported.

“Just to be clear, I’m not retiring,” Johnson said in a video he posted on social media. “Just cutting back. ... So this is by no means the end. It’s just a turning of the page. And I’ll forever cherish every chapter we have written with ‘Inside the NBA.’”

Johnson conceded that he had been dealing with heart issues over the past few years. And while his health remained good, he said any issues he has had helped him realize how important it was to spend time with his family, ESPN reported.

“I just want to slow down a bit,” he said.

“Ernie Johnson is one of sports media’s most respected and beloved figures,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “For more than three decades, he has been the heart of ‘Inside the NBA,’ helping create one of the most iconic and entertaining studio shows in sports. We are grateful for Ernie’s extraordinary contributions and look forward to celebrating him throughout the season.”

Johnson has worked for Turner Sports since 1989. He began hosting the show in 1990, and the current lineup of Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal has won more than 20 Sports Emmy Awards, ESPN reported.

The show, which had been on TNT, shifted to ESPN and ABC last season, according to the cable sports outlet.

“It’s been an amazing journey,” Barkley said during Wednesday night’s show. “You’ve been our unquestionable leader. ... The question I’m probably asked the most is: Is Ernie Johnson as good as a person as he seems? And I say, man, he’s better than that.

“So I just want to say thank you, thank you for being our leader for all these years. Even though I knew it was coming, it’s still hard, brother.”

Johnson was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2023. He was named the National Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association that year and has received the Vince Lombardi Award of Excellence.

His father, Ernie Johnson, pitched for nine years in the majors and later became a longtime broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves.