TNT Sues NBA After Losing Media Rights Deal

TNT isn't about to lose its media rights deal with the NBA without a fight ... it just sued the basketball org. -- claiming it has a "contractual right" to continue to broadcast its games going forward.

The media company -- whose parent organization is Warner Bros. Discovery -- filed the lawsuit in New York on Friday ... just days after Adam Silver revealed the NBA is moving on with Amazon Prime Video.

In their suit, TNT officials claim the NBA legally cannot accept Amazon's deal -- as they say they matched the offer to a T.

"We have taken legal action to enforce our rights," TNT said in a statement Friday morning. "We strongly believe this is not just our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to keep watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed WBD video-first distribution platforms -- including TNT and Max."

TNT has been broadcasting NBA games since the '80s ... but, on Tuesday, the NBA said that'll all come to an end starting in 2025.

The Association was adamant TNT "did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video's offer." A short time later, though, TNT said it did indeed submit the same offer.

The two sides don't appear to be budging anytime soon ... setting up a messy legal battle from here.

In the meantime, Charles Barkley -- one of the hosts of TNT's wildly popular "Inside the NBA" program -- slammed the NBA over how everything's gone down ... accusing Silver's org. of never giving TNT a fair shake.

"Clearly the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning," the Hall of Famer said. "I'm not sure TNT ever had a chance."