'Inside the NBA’s Ernie Johnson Tears Up While Announcing Shocking Death of Longtime Crew Member (2025)

Inside the NBA’s Ernie Johnson got emotional while sharing the news that a beloved longtime staffer has died.

On Thursday, May 8, the anchor and his co-hosts Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley were backed by the show’s crew — all united to share their grief about the death of stagehand Kevin Thomas.

“You’re looking at our Inside the NBA crew, it’s as close as you can possibly get to a family in the workplace,” Johnson, 68, began, and his voice wavered. “And our family is hurting tonight, because we lost a brother of ours this week.”

Johnson continued, “Kevin Thomas was one of the stagehands here in Studio J, been here for 30 years. And he was one great teammate. You may not have known him, but you’d seen him. He was a part of a lot of the skits we cooked up.”

As Johnson spoke, images of Thomas participating in many of the program’s hilarious moments were shown.

“The dude had a joyous sense of humor and a kindness about him that simply drew you in,” Johnson said, over an image of Thomas jokingly sandblasting O'Neal’s toenails. “Whenever we needed something, 'You know what, that’s calling for Kevin.' "

The former NBA stars also chimed in with their tributes to their late co-worker, whose cause of death was not immediately known.

“Death is so sudden,” Barkley, 62, said. “You are with somebody one day and then you get the call the next day that they’re gone. We were all in shock when we got the message the other day. Man, what a fun dude. I admired him, I respected him. He did anything that we asked him to do. The world is a sadder place without Kevin not here, he was just a really good dude and we’re going to miss him.”

O’Neal added: “When they told me the other day, I heard it but I didn’t want to hear it I said, 'Who?' They said, 'Kevin.' My Kevin?"

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Johnson closed the somber segment by further honoring the beloved member of the show.

“He was one of those guys who came to work with a smile on his face,” Johnson said, and his voice broke as he tapped his pen on the desk in sad frustration.

“He was 70,” Johnson said, and added that he is survived by his wife, son and four grandchildren. “We pray in this time that is unspeakably difficult they can somehow find comfort and peace knowing how that husband, that father, that grandfather was loved and respected. The studio will never be the same.”