New York City native Cardi B thrilled fans in attendance at the Knicks game last night with a halftime performance. Most of her short set wasn’t broadcast on ESPN, as the network showed analysis from the Inside The NBA crew, but the brief cut-in they did do ended up being the most viral moment from the entire game, as Charles Barkley’s quip about her “Cardi Ds” resulted in extended laughter and host Ernie Johnson making it clear he was not the one who said it.
The back-and-forth sequence, which also featured some comments from Shaquille O’Neal, was quickly clipped by several popular Twitter accounts, and almost immediately, it was everywhere. Some users shared it because they enjoyed the comments. Some users shared it because they couldn’t believe he said it, and some users shared it because they wanted to talk about Cardi B’s fantastic outfit. You can watch the unhinged moment below…
“I don’t know if those B’s. Those might be Cardi D’s”We have lost Charles Barkley tonight folks https://t.co/ZzStZF5VRLJune 9, 2026
Inside The NBA has been, by a very wide margin, the most talked about studio show in sports for decades. A typical episode features moderator Ernie Johnson, along with Barkley, Shaq and Kenny Smith. The runtime varies depending on the game and what they’re doing, but a typical episode would see them go on at halftime for a brief segment and then go on again after the game to provide post-game analysis. Sometimes they’re also joined by other NBA legends who might come on as special guests or even current players who might stop by for an interview.
The analysis is always strong, as Barkley, Shaq and Kenny are all highly regarded former NBA players with thoughtful things to say, but the real reason the show has been on the air for decades is because the guys have fantastic chemistry and never pull any punches. Barkley and Shaq especially are willing to say whatever pops in their heads. Usually that results in them dunking on players for bonehead plays and mistakes they made during the game (or entire teams), but like we saw last night, it also sometimes results in them dunking on each other or going way off topic (like when they got family photos done).
There was great concern across the sports world last year that Inside The NBA was going to say its final goodbye. TNT, the show’s longtime home, lost the rights to broadcast NBA games, but after a national outcry, ESPN decided to pick the entire crew up and use them for their broadcast team. There was some grumbling about the network cutting back their schedule and some initial concerns about whether the team would be muzzled, but as this entire exchange about Cardi B illustrates, ESPN has mostly just let them do their thing.
As for Cardi B herself, she was clearly amused by the entire thing. She retweeted a video of Barkley’s comments, as well as a screenshot of her trending on social media during the game. She also posted pictures in courtside seats with her son, who seemed to be having a great time.
They were joined by an arsenal of celebrities including President Trump, Ben Stiller, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Spike Lee, Fat Joe, Timothée Chalamet, John McEnroe, Mariska Hargitay and many more. They were all hoping to see the Knicks get one step closer to their first NBA Championship in over fifty years. The team wound up losing a close game, but they still hold a 2-1 lead over the San Antonio Spurs. Game 4 is on Wednesday night and will offer Barkley and company some more time with a live microphone to say whatever they want to say.
