What will the NBA on NBC look like when the network's new broadcast rights deal begins in the 2025-26 season?
awfulannouncing.com
The NBA broadcasting ecosystem was the same for nearly two decades until this year when the league agreed to ground-shifting deals with NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video that will see basketball consumption evolve massively over the next 11 years.
With its history of great NBA broadcasts, significant reach on a broadcast network, and a storied sports brand, the direction NBC goes with its talent will dictate much of how the league looks and feels to its fans.
A successful broadcast of the Paris Olympics this summer led on the basketball side by announcers
Noah Eagle and
Mike Tirico, plus analysts
Dwyane Wade and
LaChina Robinson, illustrates just how much talent NBC has at its disposal. But where will the network look, and how will it approach its booth and studio hiring?
Building a broadcast team mostly from scratch allows the NBA on NBC to mix new and old, both in perspective and format. They can think not just about how to make a splash now, but build a top basketball brand for the next decade-plus.
Here’s our heavily researched, taste-informed guess on what it looks like.
“A” Broadcast Booth
A combination of
reporting and common sense tells us that
Tirico will be NBC’s top NBA announcer when the 2025-26 season tips off. Tirico called tons of NBA for ESPN until he left the worldwide leader in 2016, and has
a great feel for the big moments in a basketball game.
As the face of NBC Sports and the vet of the network, he will get the call.
That leaves the game analyst chair open.
Wade was
exciting but
a little raw in Paris, probably not ready for a top job at a network that will broadcast the conference finals in less than two years.
Puck’s Dylan Byers
reported that NBC is expected to pursue
Grant Hill and
Draymond Green from TNT. But it’s not a lock that either would be available as soon as next season. Hill remains a fixture of TNT Sports’ March Madness coverage and may not be allowed to leave. Green is under contract with the Golden State Warriors for three more seasons.
With TNT losing the NBA, why not throw a big salary at its top analyst
Reggie Miller, who is still just 58? NBC execs would sleep a lot easier if they could book Miller as the face of their NBA coverage for the entirety of the deal.
As for sideline reporters, Byers reported NBC wants
Allie LaForce from TNT. But
Zora Stephenson, who just had a great Olympics, will factor in as well.
“B” Broadcast Booth
This is Eagle’s booth. Since finally landing at NBC and getting shots to call a range of sports, Eagle has shown NBC why it would be silly to hold him back.
In Paris, he showed that he can pass time and entertain with a partner when necessary while snapping to attention when the stakes are highest.
Eagle not only brings big calls for big moments, but he also brings the viewer along by always knowing the time, score, and patter of basketball after starting as an NBA radio announcer.
Wade would be a great analyst choice here.
In an interview with NBC News (coincidence?) during the Olympics, Wade left the door open to a full-time analyst gig in the future.
Aside from the three-time NBA champ, an up-and-comer like
Jamal Crawford or a local standout like
Brian Scalabrine would work. Monica McNutt, Antonio Daniels, or Sarah Kustok could shine on a bigger stage as well.
As for sideline reporter, if LaForce jumps to the NBA on NBC after all, give Stephenson this gig.
NBA on NBC Studio
This is where things get interesting. The entire format of studio shows can vary from network to network and sport to sport. At NBC, its signature
Football Night In America broadcast on Sunday nights lasts hours and includes everything from Matthew Berry giving fantasy updates to Steve Kornacki breaking down playoff odds.
Perhaps they will model their NBA studio show after
FNIA. But on an average weekday during the regular season, they need something recognizable and easy. At TNT, that meant long segments with strong personalities and
the best chemistry in all of television with Inside the NBA. At ESPN, studio shows are a vehicle for commercials.
Assuming the elusive Charles Barkley
truly sticks at TNT as he says he will, the top free agent is off the board. But if NBC wants to invest in a truly great studio show, it can.
Byers reported NBC may not want to retain
Maria Taylor long-term, but after another successful Olympics and the addition of a sport that she covered for years at ESPN, it would be strange to move on from her.
If we assume Taylor hosts pregame, halftime, and postgame, who will NBC surround her with? If I’m running NBC Sports, my first call is
Shaquille O’Neal. He is among the most famous people ever to play basketball and grew into a legit running mate for Barkley on
Inside over the years. In interviews and on his podcast, O’Neal has more than proven he can be entertaining and provocative without Barkley by his side.
Still, we can all agree
Inside occasionally leans too far toward the silly and the critical, with O’Neal perhaps being the biggest culprit. Enter
Candace Parker. O’Neal’s teammate on TNT Tuesday nights clearly has his respect and can balance the goofy and the smart. Given that NBC also bought WNBA rights, she can be a Swiss Army knife for the network covering both leagues in retirement.
From there, NBC could go in a variety of directions. They could bring along an insider like Shams Charania or poach a
Brian Windhorst type to serve the function Adam Schefter does on
Monday Night Countdown. They could bring in an older voice like Stan Van Gundy. Even a popular retread like David Aldridge or J.A. Adande could be a fun balance.
For now, let’s go with Windhorst in the final seat. It feels impossible to imagine ESPN’s NBA coverage without the incredibly hardworking and versatile Windhorst, but that’s exactly what would make him so valuable to the NBA on NBC. Windhorst could be a staple on the studio show while also contributing to digital properties. Make him the NBA Peter King and don’t overthink it.
