Ernie Johnson gets emotional as Charles Barkley, Shaq and Kenny Smith present Hall of Fame award

Ernie Johnson was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame and three important people who have been vital to his career were in attendance.

Cris Collinsworth and Ernie Johnson headlined the 2023 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame class Tuesday night, which featured nine inductees. When it came time to honor Johnson with his award, presenter James Brown looked around the podium as if it had been accidentally misplaced, seemingly ruining the moment for the newly inducted Hall of Famer. But as Brown asked for the statue, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley entered the room with the award.

Shaq, Kenny & Chuck showed up to present Ernie with his Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame award 👏 pic.twitter.com/Hio5TaHeZr

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 13, 2023

“We wanted to hand deliver this to Ernie,” Shaq said to Johnson, who looked emotional by the presence of his Inside the NBA teammates. “Congratulations, brother.”

“We love you,” Smith said. “You definitely deserve it. You guys are among greatness right here with this man.”

The award ceremony occurred Tuesday night, when Inside the NBA airs on TNT so Johnson probably didn’t expect to see Shaq, Smith and Barkley in attendance. But with the trio meaning so much to Johnson’s career, it wouldn’t have been the same without them there. In their absence, the NBA on TNT studio show was hosted by Adam Lefkoe, Grant Hill, Vince Carter and Jamal Crawford.

Johnson’s broadcasting career spans more than four decades, the bulk of which has been spent at Turner where he’s been a play-by-play announcer and studio host. Undoubtedly, hosting Inside the NBA since 1990 has been his most notable role. No broadcaster can handle navigating conversations between Barkley, Shaq and Smith as seamlessly as Johnson does. And no broadcaster is as universally beloved as Johnson is.

[NBA on TNT]