Television broadcasts of theNational Basketball Association (NBA) games were first broadcast by American broadcast networkABC from January 3,1965 to May 10,1973. Broadcasts produced by ABC Sports (laterESPN on ABC) returned onDecember 25,2002, this time utilizing theNBA on ABC branding. Since 2006, when ABC Sports was rebranded to ESPN on ABC, the said branding was used less often.

ABC's regular season schedule includesChristmas Day games;NBA Saturday Primetime games on selected weekends from December or January to March; andNBA Sunday Showcase games on selected afternoons from February to March. ABC then airs selected games during the first five weeks of theNBA playoffs and is the exclusive broadcaster of theNBA Finals.

ABC first signed a deal with the NBA to become the league's primary television^[1] partner in 1964;^[2] ABC's first game telecast aired on January 3,1965^[3] (a game between theBoston Celtics andCincinnati Royals).^[4] ABC's initial alliance with the NBA first came about due toABC Sports headRoone Arledge's search for live programming that could diminish the ratings ofCBS Sports Spectacular, and ABC's anthology program,Wide World of Sports a boost with sponsors. ABC initially paid the NBA only$650,000 for the rights annually.

For much of the 1960s, ABC only televised Sunday afternoon games, including during the NBA Playoffs. This meant that ABC did not have to televise a potential NBA Finals deciding game if it were played on a weeknight. In1969, ABC did televise Game 7 of theLos Angeles Lakers–Boston Celtics series in prime time on a weeknight. The following season, ABC aired the1970 NBA Finals in its entirety, making it the first Finals series to have all games televised nationally.

Commentators for the originalNBA on ABC includedplay-by-play announcersKeith Jackson^[5] andChris Schenkel,^[6] andanalystsJack Twyman,^[7]Bob Cousy^[8][9] andBill Russell.^[10] On April 8, 1967, astrike by theAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) forced ABC Sports producerChuck Howard and directorChet Forte^[11] to call Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals betweenBoston Celtics andPhiladelphia 76ers,^[12] as its regular announcing team were members of the union.Curt Gowdy also served on play-by-play for half of the1967–68 season.

The first nationally televised Christmas Day NBA broadcast occurred in1967 when ABC broadcast a game between theLos Angeles Lakers andSan Diego Rockets from the then-San Diego Sports Arena inSan Diego. Jerry Gross and Jack Twyman called that particular broadcast for the network. ABC would continue to televise Christmas games through1972. The remainder of these broadcasts were based onArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum inPhoenix. Chris Schenkel did play-by-play for ABC during this period except1970,^[13] when Keith Jackson held that responsibility. Jack Twyman remained as the color commentator for the broadcasts up until1971 when the position was assumed by Bill Russell.

By1969, ABC's NBA contract was worth only $3 million. To put things into proper perspective, in 1969,Major League Baseball'stelevision contract withNBC was worth $16.5 million while theNational Football League costCBS about $22 million. ABC had made a bargain in purchasing the television rights to the NBA, considering the league's steadyratings. ABC's ratings for the NBA rose from a 6.0 in1965 to an 8.2 in1968.

ABC was by this time, coming increasingly under fire for what was perceived to be a less-than-spectacular presentation of the NBA.Sports Illustrated'sFrank Deford^[14] in particular, singled ABC out for their coverage of the1971 NBA Finals. Deford felt that ABC was making a mistake in trying to cover the NBA the same way that they covered a football game because they were two different games. On that end, Deford wrote that neither ABC's announcers nor cameras were able to isolate the important phases of the game. He added that replays were used only to second-guess officials rather than "capture the grace and precision of the performers". Meanwhile, Deford also criticized play-by-play man Chris Schenkel^[6] in regards to his failure to appreciate the nuances of the game and their halftime shows, which Deford saw as not innovative or imaginative.

The network proposed a contract extension with a modest rights bump in 1972, which was criticized by owners. Reportedly, a powerful bloc of owners in larger television markets were weary of television, though they understood they needed television to promote their brand. A major sticking point was attempting to force the prospective winning television network to air games on Saturdays during the fall and winter, directly in competition with far more popularcollege football telecasts on ABC. ABC balked at the request.^[15]

ABC lost the broadcast rights to the NBA^[16] toCBS^[17][18][19] after the1972–73 season,^[20] with the network's initial tenure with the league ending with its lastNBA Finals game on May 10, 1973. ABC filled the void left by losing the NBA by counterprogrammingWide World of Sports on Sundays^[21] against CBS' NBA coverage.^[22]

Thank you very much, it's a happy bunch that deserves it. They played extraordinary basketball. I emphasize again, that it's a team of unusual poise - a brilliantly disciplined, brilliantly coached basketball team. And they have won their secondNBA title, beating theLos Angeles Lakers tonight 102 to 93. And they won it in'70, came back to win it in'73 beatingBaltimore to get into the second round of theplayoffs, beatBoston in seven games, and took the Lakers out in five.Willis Reed of theNew York Knicks^[23] has been named theMVP of the championship series. He will receive a new automobile from Sport magazine. I like to pay a special respects to Terry O'Neil,^[24] who was our statistician during the season. And so that's the story of NBA basketball and for all of us atABC Sports, you have a nice summer.Keith Jackson^[25] here atThe Forum inInglewood, California, this has been an ABC Sports presentation.

On December 15, 1973, ABC aired what is considered to be the first^[29] telecast of a regular season college basketball game by a major broadcast network (betweenUCLA andNorth Carolina State inSt. Louis). ABC televised this game using its former NBA announcing crew of Keith Jackson and Bill Russell.

Bill Russell also providedcolor commentary forABC's coverage of basketball at theSummer Olympics in1972 and1976.^[30] Russell worked alongsideFrank Gifford,^[31]Bill Flemming (who (filled in for Gifford while he didwrestling in 1972), andCurt Gowdy.^[32][33]

And then in the1977–78 NCAA Division I men's season,C.D. Chesley (who controlled the rights to theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) at the time) wantedNBC to televise select ACC games as part of its national package as it had done the previous few years. However, NBC wanted to feature intersectional games. This action greatly upset Chesley, who wound up selling the rights to theACC Tournament final to ABC. ABC would televise the 1978 ACC Tournament final as part ofWide World of Sports. The game, called byJim Lampley and Bill Russell, marked the first timeDuke University's Blue Devils basketball team played on national television.

For ABC's final Summer Olympics to date, which were the1984 games fromLos Angeles, Keith Jackson^[34] provided the play–by–play alongsideDigger Phelps^[35] (men) andAnn Meyers^[36][37] (women).

ABC wouldn't beginbroadcasting college basketball on a more regular basis until January 18, 1987. In the early years of ABC's regular college basketball coverage, Keith Jackson^[38][39][40] andDick Vitale^[41][42] were the primaryannouncing crew, whileGary Bender^[43][44] was the secondary play-by-play announcer behind Jackson. Meanwhile,Al Michaels^[45] did regional games during this period.

Also beginning in1987 and continuing through1989, ABC^[46] broadcast theMcDonald's Open.^[47] Gary Bender^[48] and Dick Vitale^[49] provided the commentary for ABC's broadcasts. Supplemental coverage was provided byTBS.^[50][51]

From the1984–85 through1989–90 seasons, theABC Radio Network^[52][53] was the official, national radio broadcaster of NBA games, succeeding theMutual Broadcasting System. ABC Radio was in return, supplanted by Public Interest Affiliates'^[54] (or PIA's^[55])NBA Radio Network.

Commentators includedFred Manfra^{[56][57][58][59]} on play-by-play andOscar Robertson^[60] (from 1984 to 1985 through1985–86),Dick Vitale^{[61][62][63][64]} (from1986–87 through 1989–90) andEarl Monroe^[65][66] (from1988–89 through 1989–90) on color commentary. Other announcers includedMarv Albert^[67][68] (1989 All-Star Game) andChick Hearn (1988 All-Star Game) on play-by-play andRod Hundley (1987 and1989 All-Star Games),Johnny Most^{[69][70][71][72][73]} (1988 All-Star Game), andDave Barnett (1986 All-Star Game) on color commentary.

On January 22, 2002, the NBA signed a six-year deal withThe Walt Disney Company andTurner Sports, which renewed an existing deal withTNT and allowed ABC and ESPN to acquire the rights to air the NBA's games. ABC and ESPN reportedly paid an average of about US$400 million a season. Technically, ESPN pays the NBA for its broadcast rights and"buys" time on ABC to air select games (this is noted incopyright tags during the end credits after the telecasts, saying "The preceding program has been paid for by ESPN, Inc.").^[74] As part of the agreement, ABC acquired the rights to theNBA Finals, at least 5 otherNBA Playoffs games, 15 regular season games (mostly onSunday afternoons), andNBA Inside Stuff on Saturday mornings.^[75]

For the2006–07 NBA season, ABC's sports operations were fully integrated into ESPN (rebranding the sports division asESPN on ABC).^[76] In June 2007, the NBA renewed its television agreement with ESPN and ABC.^[77]

The agreement was renewed in January 2014, extending it through the2024–25 NBA season.^[78][79] ABC expanded its coverage beginning in the2015–16 season when ESPN announced that ABC would add a series of eight ofSaturday night games to its slate of broadcasts. As a result of this change, ABC no longer aired regular Sunday doubleheaders; doubleheaders ultimately returned in 2022.^[80] Expansion continued in 2021 when ABC began airing coverage of theNBA draft.^[81] On October 2, 2023, it was announced that five Wednesday night games originally scheduled to air on ESPN in January 2024 would be moved to ABC, as part of replacement programming due to theWGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.^[82]

The NBA officially renewed its agreement again with ESPN and ABC on July 24, 2024, for another 11 years, taking its coverage through to the 2035–36 season.^[83][84] As part of a separate sublicensing agreement with Disney andWarner Bros. Discovery, ESPN and ABC gained the broadcasting rights toTNT Sports'Inside the NBA beginning in the2025–26 season, the first season of their renewed agreement. TNT Sports will continue to produce the show for ESPN and ABC.^{[85][86][87][88]}

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ABC's NBA regular season coverage has typically begun withChristmas Day games, followed byNBA Saturday Primetime andNBA Sunday Showcase on selected weekends starting in mid-January and February, respectively. In2021–22 and2022–23, ABC's schedule instead began with aSaturday Primetime game on the second Saturday in December. In2023–24 and2024–25, ABC's NBA coverage began with theIn-Season Tournament/NBA Cup, knockout rounds also during the second Saturday of December; such games have since been moved toPrime Video.

When ABC took over the broadcast television deal in2002, it continued NBC's tradition of televisingdoubleheaders on Christmas for the most part. However in2004 and2006, ABC instead only aired one Christmas game. From2004 to2006, ABC also insisted on carrying a Christmas game between theMiami Heat and theLos Angeles Lakers, featuring their respective playersShaquille O'Neal andKobe Bryant. In2009, ABC's coverage began featuring amusic video featuringMariah Carey performing her hit 1994 single "All I Want for Christmas Is You."^[89][90] In2010, Carey was also featured singing "Oh Santa!"^[90] From2017 to2021, ABC expanded to a tripleheader on Christmas Day. In2022 all five Christmas Day games were simulcast across both ABC and ESPN, as an attempt to counterprogram the NFL's scheduling ofChristmas Day Games across CBS, Fox, and NBC in 2022.^[91] With Christmas Day falling on a Monday in2023, only two of the five games were ABC and ESPN simulcasts; the early and two evening games were only on ESPN while ABC airedMonday Night Football.^[92] In2024, after the NFL scheduled Christmas Day games on a Wednesday for the first time, all five of the NBA's games were again simulcast across both ABC and ESPN.^[93][94]

The number of regular season games that ABC normally covers is significantly lower than what NBC broadcasts during its tenure with the league. In its first season of coverage, ABC aired 14 regular-season games, in comparison to NBC's yearly average of 33 games. That number increased to 18 games in the next two seasons (2003–04 and2004–05), and 20 games in the2005–06 season. For2006–07, ABC decreased the number of game telecasts it aired during the season to 19. In a 2002 interview withJim Rome, NBA commissionerDavid Stern commented about the number of league games broadcast on ABC:

Cable and satellite (programming is) increasingly available to everybody who wants it. On ABC, you're going to see us on as many or more Sundays during the regular season as NBC is now, but fewer triple-headers and double-headers, and frankly, we think that the triple-headers and double-headers, which we favored in the past, don't work. It's too hard to get people to sit through six and eight-and-a-half hours of NBA on (TV), and it's good to be on cable during the week because that's where our fans are looking for our games.^[95]

By contrast to Stern's assessment, media analysts and many fans found that the cable-heavy television deal made many games unavailable and, in addition, devalued the league. Starting with the second round of the playoffs, TNT's NBA coverage becomes exclusive, meaning that no locally produced league broadcasts can compete against the TNT telecasts (though commensurate with the move to sports rights to cable, few over-the-air local stations currently carried NBA coverage then but as of the 2020s new RSNs were launched through over-the-air rather than cable). Because of this, fans of teams in the playoffs who do not have a cable television subscription are unable to watch most playoff games. In addition, ABC's coverage is always exclusive, including during the regular season. If an ongoing game airs opposite to one televised by ABC, it cannot be televised in the localmarket, which has the side effect of causing some games to not be aired on television at all.Sports Business Daily quotedHouston Chronicle writer Jonathan Feigen regarding the structuring of the NBA's deal with ABC:

[the NBA] seemed to marginalize the product, treating their sport as small and their playoffs as no more important than one of 162Atlanta Braves games.

On July 17, 2015, ESPN announced that ABC would move some Sunday afternoon games to be a series of eight Saturday night games to its slate of broadcasts in the2015–16. The firstNBA Saturday Primetime game aired on January 23, 2016. As a result of this change, ABC did not have regular Sunday doubleheaders until 2021 (due to the length of theNBA Sunday Showcase schedule being reduced).^[80] Since 2023, ABC aired its first non-Christmas NBA tripleheader on the final Saturday in January.

Also under the cable-heavy television deals, TNT was awarded the rights to theNBA All-Star Game (from 2003 to 2025) instead of ABC, in addition to renewing its deal for theevents of All-Star weekend. The All-Star Game has not aired on over-the-air television since NBC covered the2002 game, however NBC will return to air All-Star weekend beginning with the2026 game.

As mentioned previously, ABC aired a series of Wednesday night games in January during the 2023–24 season due to the2023 Hollywood labor disputes. As these were originally assigned to ESPN, they were non-exclusive games andregional sports networks were permitted to locally air the games alongside ABC.^[82]

Furthermore, ABC only airs selected games during the first three rounds of the playoffs. During the first and second rounds, ABC's schedule includes primetime playoff games, but they usually are only on Friday or Saturday nights. From 2019 to 2023, Friday night first-round playoff games on ABC were considered non-exclusive and may co-exist with broadcasts of regional sports networks of the teams involved (due to the game originally assigned to ESPN2 prior to 2019). From 2005 to 2007, ABC aired Game 4 of ESPN's respective Conference Finals (with all of those airing on Memorial Day). Under NBC's previous deal, Memorial Day playoff games were a yearly tradition on over-the-air television, however ABC aired a weekday conference final Game 4 in 2008 and 2022 and has not aired any more since.

ABC also rarely televises either of the NBA Conference Finals series outside of Game 1 (and from 2008 and 2009 and again since 2022 Game 3), with coverage instead primarily on ESPN, TNT (2003–2025) and NBC/Prime Video (2026–present). ESPN airs one Conference Final exclusively each year, the Eastern Conference Finals in2003 and every even-numbered year since2004 and the Western Conference Finals in every odd-numbered year since2005, while TNT (2003–2025) and NBC/Prime Video (2026–present) gets the other. ABC typically only airs Conference Final matches – whichever one to which ESPN holds the rights in a given year – held on weekends. Due to the checkerboard schedule of the Conference Finals in which each conference plays every other day, ABC is typically only scheduled for a weekend Game 1 (if the series gets pushed up), and then a Game 3 Saturday primetime game in the middle weekend followed by a weekend sixth or seventh game (if necessary). However, Conference Finals series do not often reach a sixth or seventh game. In 2004, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2020, ABC's playoff schedule was scaled back and the network did not air any Conference Finals games at all.^[96]

Conversely, ABC carries over NBC's tradition of exclusively airing theNBA Finals on over-the-air television, which will continue even after NBC was added back in 2024.

ESPN's pregame show,NBA Countdown, airs before each NBA game. It utilizes many of the same crew from ESPN's coverage. Another studio show,Inside the NBA, produced byTNT Sports, will begin airing on ABC beginning in the2025–26 season, as part of a sublicensing agreement between parent companiesThe Walt Disney Company andWarner Bros. Discovery (WBD). This follows a settlement between WBD and the NBA regardingTNT's loss of coverage rights toNBC andAmazon, which led to TNT filing a lawsuit against the league.Inside the NBA is expected to air during Christmas games, the NBA playoffs, and the NBA Finals, as well as all games beginning January 1.

One common complaint about NBA coverage on ABC is the use of unconventional camera angles, including the Floorcam and Skycam angles, used by the network throughout its coverage.^[97] Other complaints^[98] are of camera angles that appear too far away, colors that seem faded and dull, and the quieting of crowd noise so that announcers can be heard clearly (by contrast to NBC, which allowed crowd noise to sometimes drown out their announcers).^[99][100]

Some complaints have concerned the promotion, or perceived lack thereof, of NBA telecasts. The2003 NBA Finals received little fanfare on ABC or corporate partner ESPN; while subsequent Finals were promoted more on both networks, NBA-related advertisements on ABC were still down significantly from promotions on NBC. NBA promos took up 3 minutes and 55 seconds of airtime on ABC during the week of May 23,2004 according to theSports Business Daily, comparable to 2  minutes and 45  seconds for theIndianapolis 500. Promotions for the Indianapolis 500 outnumbered promotions for the NBA Finals fourteen-to-nine between the hours of 9:00 and 11:00;p.m. during that week.^[101]

ABC was also criticized for focusing its coverage on a select number of teams, particularly the decision to broadcast a game between theLos Angeles Lakers andMiami Heat on its Christmas Day schedule for three consecutive years. However, for2007, ABC decided to break this tradition by instead having theHeat, for the fourth straight time, appear on Christmas Day facing the 2007Eastern Conference Champions, theCleveland Cavaliers.^[102] In2008, theBoston Celtics replaced the Heat on the Christmas Day schedule, and faced theLos Angeles Lakers; and in2009, theCavaliers played theLakers on Christmas Day. However, theHeat-Lakers Christmas Day special would make its return in the2010–11 NBA season, as a result ofLeBron James' recent move from the Cavaliers to the Heat. For the2011–12 NBA season, theLakers andHeat played again on Christmas Day, but against separate opponents. The Lakers played theChicago Bulls, while the Heat played theDallas Mavericks in a rematch of the2011 NBA Finals; both the Bulls and Mavericks made their ABC Christmas Day debuts, which also acted as the league's opening day that season due to the2011 NBA lockout delaying the start of the season. In the case of the latter, ABC aired the pre-game championship ring and banner ceremony for the Mavericks, which marked the first time in NBA history that a nationalbroadcast network televised the ceremony.

After the 1990s (when the NBA arguably reached its highest point in terms of popularity) manyhardcore and casual fans began to associate the league withNBC, and more accurately, NBC's theme music, "Roundball Rock". After ABC took over the NBA coverage from NBC, "Roundball Rock" composerJohn Tesh offered his iconic theme song to the new rightsholder, but ABC turned it down and told Tesh that they wanted a completely different song.^[103] Whereas NBC used "Roundball Rock" for all twelve years of its coverage, ABC ended up using at least nine themes in its first four years. Three of the themes were traditional sports themes, while six of them ('We Got Hoops" byRobert Randolph and the Family Band, "Can't Get Enough" byJustin Timberlake,^[104] "Let's Get It Started" byThe Black Eyed Peas, "Lose My Breath" byDestiny's Child, "This Is How a Heart Breaks" byRob Thomas and "Runnin' Down a Dream" byTom Petty and the Heartbreakers) were contemporary pieces by known artists.

For the2006–07 NBA season, ESPN began using "Fast Break", the theme music used for ABC's NBA broadcasts since2004, as the theme for its own NBA games. Because of the reorganization of ABC Sports under the oversight of ESPN, and its 2006 rebranding as ESPN on ABC (which calls for all sporting events aired on ABC to utilize the same production elements as ESPN's sports telecasts), this means that games broadcast on ABC will use the same theme music from previous years. In addition, ABC selected pop groupThe Pussycat Dolls to perform "Right Now" as the new introduction for NBA games.^[105]

For the2008 season, "Nine Lives" byDef Leppard andTim McGraw was used as the new intro song for ABC's game broadcasts, and was also used by ESPN during the playoffs before the start of each game. For the2012 NBA Playoffs, the revised version of the1972–73 theme was introduced, incorporating features of the current NBA players from going back from the previous year to years past during the network's tenure with the NBA.

For the 2011 NBA postseason, ESPN used an updated composition of the "Fast Break" theme music for the postseason, yet the original composition was still used for the regular season through the2015-16 NBA season.

For the2016-17 NBA season, ESPN used another updated composition of the "Fast Break" theme music. This time, for the regular season, replacing the original composition that was first used by ABC in the 2004–05 season and by ESPN two seasons later.Maze featuringFrankie Beverly's "Before I Let Go" was added to start the courtside play-by-play commentary.

To go along with ESPN's rebranding of their NBA coverage prior to the 2022-23 season, a new theme was composed and introduced. A remixed version of this theme is used during the NBA Playoffs and NBA Finals.

NBA Saturday Primetime debuted during the2015–16 season, and began on January 23, 2016. It features marquee matchups of the league's most prominent teams. Games air every Saturday at 8:30 pm (ET), although additional games may air on earlier timeslots. From its inception, the games had been called byMike Breen,Jeff Van Gundy, andMark Jackson.^[106] On the other hand,NBA Sunday Showcase airs on Sunday afternoons. It typically begins onSuper Bowl Sunday, but in 2021, it began two weeks after Super Bowl LV on February 21, 2021. From 2020 until 2023, the games were primarily called byMark Jones andDoris Burke.^[107]

In August 2023, ESPN announced that the new lead broadcast team of Breen,Doris Burke, andDoc Rivers would callNBA Saturday Primetime games starting with the2023–24 season, while the then-newly-formed second core broadcast team ofRyan Ruocco,JJ Redick, andRichard Jefferson would were assigned toNBA Sunday Showcase games.^[108] However, Rivers would later leave before theSaturday Primetime series began, leaving only Breen and Burke on the lead team. The second core team of Ruocco, Redick, and Jefferson only called oneSunday Showcase game before Redick joined Breen and Burke on the lead team, calling games for the remainder of the season (and by extension,Saturday Primetime) until the2024 NBA Finals.^[109] Redick later left to become head coach of theLos Angeles Lakers.

For the2024–25 season, Jefferson joined Breen and Burke on the lead team on a rotational basis. This later became permanent in February 2025. The 2025 edition ofNBA Sunday Showcase began with what would beHubie Brown's final NBA broadcast on February 9, 2025. Brown was accompanied byMike Breen, his longtime partner, and the broadcast also featured a virtual appearance from former NBA commentatorMike Tirico, Brown's other longtime partner. Succeeding broadcasts feature eitherMark Jones orDave Pasch as play-by-play commentator, with a rotational set of analysts.

In the early years, two women-oriented networks,Lifetime andOxygen, also broadcast games including the first game of the WNBA.NBC showed games from 1997 to 2002 as part of theirNBA on NBC coverage before the league transferred the rights^[110] toABC/ESPN.^{[111][112][113]}

In June 2007, the WNBA signed a contract extension withESPN. The new television deal ran from 2009 to 2016. A minimum of 18 games would be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 each season; the rights to broadcast the first regular-season game and the All-Star Game were held by ABC. Additionally, a minimum of 11 postseason games would be broadcast on any of the three stations.^[114] Along with this deal, came the first-ever rights fees to be paid to a women's professional sports league. Over the eight years of the contract, "millions and millions of dollars" would be "dispersed to the league's teams".

After obtaining the NBA broadcast rights, ABC courted two main announcers from theNBA on NBC,Bob Costas andMarv Albert. After Costas (who was reportedly offered a generous deal which also included offers to do play-by-play for ESPN'sMajor League Baseball telecasts and feature reports forABC News)^[115] elected to remain with NBC. Albert signed a six-year deal with TNT, the network went with veteran broadcasterBrad Nessler to be the lead play-by-play announcer for its NBA broadcasts. Nessler, who before that point had not been the main voice for any professional sport on television, received a call from Marv Albert's agent, soon after being hired. On the call, Nessler said in an interview with theInternet Movie Database:

I need to know everybody and you can't know everybody and Marv knows everyone... So, I'm just going to use him as a valuable resource, if it's all right with him.^[116]

Nessler was initially joined on the broadcasts by color commentatorBill Walton and lead sideline reporterMichele Tafoya. The team of Nessler and Walton did two broadcasts together before ABC decided that Walton needed a partner (much like he had at NBC withSteve Jones) and assigned pre-game analystTom Tolbert to join the team. Nessler, Walton, and Tolbert called most regular season games and every network playoff game. Other games were called by the team ofBrent Musburger andSean Elliott. After suffering the worst ratings in NBA Finals history for the2003 series, low ratings overall, and harsh criticism, ABC decided to retool the team. More to the point, during this particular period, Brad Nessler^[117] was accused by media analysts (among them,New York Times columnist Richard Sandomir) of not knowing game strategy well, lacking rhythm and enthusiasm in his game call, not bringing out the best in his partners, too often ignoring the score and his tendency to stammer.

This was also the only year that ABC broadcast both the NBA and theStanley Cup Finals involving teams from one market in the same year, as both theNew Jersey Nets and theNew Jersey Devils were in their respective league's finals. During ABC's broadcast of Game 3 between the San Antonio Spurs and the Nets in New Jersey on June 8, Nessler said that ABC was in a unique situation preparing for both that game and Game 7 of theStanley Cup Finals between the Devils and theMighty Ducks of Anaheim the following night. ESPN and ABC's lead NHL voiceGary Thorne mentioned this the following night, and thanked Nessler for promotingABC's broadcast of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.^[118]

After disastrous ratings for the 2003 Finals, ABC decided to completely revamp its lead NBA broadcast team. Brad Nessler was demoted to the secondary broadcast team, where he was joined by Sean Elliott andDan Majerle. Tom Tolbert was relegated to pre-game show duties only, and Bill Walton was removed from the network's NBA coverage altogether (however, he would remain with ESPN). Meanwhile, longtimeMonday Night Football commentatorAl Michaels was hired to replace Nessler as the network's lead NBA play-by-play announcer; Michele Tafoya remained as its lead sideline reporter.

Doc Rivers, a critically acclaimed analyst when he worked with Turner Sports for TNT's NBA broadcasts, became available after a 1–10 start by hisOrlando Magic led to his firing as the team's coach. Rivers was hired weeks before ABC's Christmas Day season opener. He and Michaels worked that game together, one of only six they did together during the regular season (all other games Rivers worked were with Brad Nessler). During the playoffs, Michaels and Rivers worked every single telecast, including the2004 NBA Finals, which saw significantratings improvement.

During the 2004 NBA Playoffs, Doc Rivers was hired as head coach of theBoston Celtics. Though Rivers continued to work games with Al Michaels throughout the rest of the playoffs, ABC was forced to search for a new lead analyst for the2004–05 season. In addition, the network dropped Brad Nessler from all NBA coverage and did not retain Sean Elliott or Dan Majerle.

Early in the2004–2005 season, Memphis Grizzlies coachHubie Brown, a broadcasting legend withCBS,TBS andTNT, was forced into retirement due to health issues and was soon after hired to replace Doc Rivers as Al Michaels' broadcast booth partner. Brown called his first ABC game with Michaels on Christmas Day 2004, working the highly anticipated Heat-Lakers game pitting those team's respective star playersShaquille O'Neal andKobe Bryant. After that game, the two did not do a game together again until March 2005. Michaels began covering NBA games sporadically, doing two games in early March and three additional games in April. Meanwhile, Brown worked every week of ABC's coverage, broadcasting some games with veteran broadcasterMike Breen. Michele Tafoya served as lead sideline reporter for all of the network's game broadcasts.

In addition to Hubie Brown, ABC added other known analysts to its NBA coverage.Jim Durham andDr. Jack Ramsay both worked several games during the regular season, while Brent Musburger, John Saunders,Len Elmore andMark Jackson were involved with others. Breen and Ramsay were the first secondary broadcast team to work a playoff game for ABC. Breen called three playoff games for the network in2005, the most notable being Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals with Hubie Brown.

Al Michaels was criticized by theNew York Post for not broadcasting the game and seeming uninterested in the NBA in general. Barry Horn ofThe Dallas Morning News said that Michaels was simply "not a basketball guy". Meanwhile,Bill Simmons said during the2005 Finals that Michaels "shows up for these games, does his job, then drives home thinking, 'Only five weeks to the [NFL]Hall of Fame Game, I'm almost there!'" Another criticism that Michaels received was that he too often found himself making tediously long-winded explanations. In return, he would tend to talk over two or three possessions in a row (which Michaels seemed to be better suited forfootball andbaseball broadcasts, for which he's better known for). The result was that he would hardly have time to comment on the action viewers were seeing because he was so hung up on a prior subplot or storyline that he felt the audience just had to know about.^[119] Michaels was also accused of apparently lacking the kind of enthusiasm and confidence (for instance, Michaels initially reacted toAmar'e Stoudemire's block ofTim Duncan's shot during the2005 playoffs by calling it a "great, great contested shot") expected of a main play-by-play voice.

Michaels, who by the end of his tenure on theNBA on ABC only called a total of 37 NBA games overall with ABC (a combined thirteen regular season games), did return for theNBA Finals, which scored its second-lowest rating of all time (even though it was the first Finals in eleven years to go to a seventh game). From March 7, 2004, to April 17, 2005 – including playoff games – each game Michaels called involved either the Los Angeles Lakers (whosehome city Michaels resides when not broadcasting sports events) orSacramento Kings, a total of 21 consecutive games.

For the2005–06 season, Al Michaels and Hubie Brown were slated to remain as ABC's main broadcast team. The duo worked that year's Christmas Day game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat and were expected to work the NBA Finals together as well. However, that plan did not come to fruition. In2005, theNational Football League (NFL) signed a contract withNBC for the rights to theSunday night football (a package previously held byESPN), which in turn resulted inMonday Night Football, which Al Michaels had been broadcasting for nearly 20 years, ending its run on ABC after the league's 2005 season.

Speculation arose that Michaels would leave ABC for NBC; however, he subsequently signed a deal to remain onMonday Night Football, when it moved to ESPN in2006. However, in the weeks leading up toSuper Bowl XL, it was widely speculated that Michaels was attempting to get out of his contract with ESPN to joinJohn Madden (who worked alongside Michaels for the previous four years onMonday Night Football as an analyst) at NBC. Michaels added fuel to the fire by refusing to state his plans, and he could not "respond to rumors... because that would become a distraction." On February 8, 2006, ESPN announced that itsMonday Night Football team would consist of Mike Tirico on play-by-play, with football analystJoe Theismann andTony Kornheiser as analysts. ESPN explicitly stated that Michaels would not return to eitherMonday Night Football broadcasts or ABC's NBA broadcasts, all but assuring Michaels' departure from ABC after 30 years and joining Madden at NBC.

Michaels was replaced by Mike Breen, who became the lead broadcaster for an over-the-air NBA package for the first time in his career. Breen worked the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals and2006 NBA Finals with Hubie Brown for both ESPN and ABC, as well as all the main games ABC broadcast that year. The promotion of Breen gave ABC its first consistent lead broadcaster since Brad Nessler, as Breen worked games every week. Breen previously had worked the Eastern Conference Finals for NBC in 2001 and 2002, as well as the Western Conference Finals for ESPN in 2005.

Many sportswriters and sports media analysts praised Breen, some for his explosive voice and excited calls on game-deciding and game-winning shots and others for the fact that, unlike his predecessor Al Michaels, he was already familiar with broadcasting basketball games (before NBC and ABC, he is also workingNew York Knicks games onMSG Network) and was essentially a basketball lifer.^[120] Despite that, he faced some criticism from those who complained that they would prefer a more established voice,^[121] such as Marv Albert orKevin Harlan. Hubie Brown faced criticism from writers (most notablyRichard Sandomir ofThe New York Times^[122]) as well as bloggers and viewers.

Lisa Salters also served as the lead sideline reporter for ABC's regular-season game coverage and the NBA Finals that season, filling in for Michele Tafoya while she was onmaternity leave. Salters returned to her role as its secondary sideline reporter when Tafoya returned the following year. For the secondary broadcast team, ABC reunited Bill Walton and Steve Jones for game coverage. Walton and Jones worked the Christmas Day 2005 broadcast between theSan Antonio Spurs andDetroit Pistons for ABC, the first game they called together since Game 4 of the2002 NBA Finals for NBC (NBC's last NBA telecast to date). The pair worked their first broadcast with Mike Breen and worked the remainder of the season with Brent Musburger,Jim Durham andMike Tirico. That team, along with the Breen-Brown duo, often did ESPN's Wednesday or Friday game coverage, which the previous ABC announce teams rarely did.

ABC also used severalSportsCenter reporters, includingTom Rinaldi,Rachel Nichols andJeremy Schaap, for pregame and halftime features during2006.

For the2006–07 NBA season, ABC's sports operations were fully integrated into ESPN (rebranding the sports division asESPN on ABC). As a result, Mark Jackson replaced Hubie Brown as ABC's lead analyst (Brown would still pair with Mike Breen on ESPN's primary broadcast team and Mike Tirico on ABC's secondary team). ABC's pre-game show, which Jackson was a part of, also began to be broadcast from the site of the main game each week (much as was the case during first season of the network's current NBA deal in2003).^[76]

Additionally, Michele Tafoya returned as a sideline reporter, after sitting out the 2005–06 season on maternity leave.^[123]Lisa Salters returned to her role as its secondary sideline reporter the following year as Tafoya returned to her old role.

On July 9, 2007, it was announced by Dan Patrick that he would be leaving ESPN after 18 years with the network. Stuart Scott hosted ABC's pregame show for the2007–08 season along with analystsBill Walton andMichael Wilbon.Jeff Van Gundy also joined Mike Breen and Mark Jackson full-time, starting Christmas Day. After Walton had back problems in February,Jon Barry replaced him for the rest of the season.^[124][125]

Michele Tafoya left her role as NBA sideline reporter for ABC after the 2007–08 season to spend more time with her family; however, she continued to work for ESPN, primarily serving as a sideline reporter forMonday Night Football (before leaving forNBC in 2011 to serve that same position forSunday Night Football).Doris Burke, who already served as an analyst forESPN's NBA telecasts, replaced Tafoya as lead sideline reporter on the ABC broadcasts.

Lisa Salters served as a substitute for Burke in the event she is on assignment or is slated to handle analyst duties for theNBA on ESPN, withHeather Cox filling in as part of the secondary announcing team for Salters, when she is working within the primary broadcast team. Cox took over the secondary role in 2012 after Salters became a full-time sideline reporter forMonday Night Football, with eitherChris Broussard,J. A. Adande orHolly Rowe serving as the secondary reporter whenever Cox was assigned as the lead reporter.

As of April 2015^[update], the main broadcast team consisted of Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy, while the secondary broadcast team consisted of Mike Tirico and Hubie Brown, with eitherMark Jones,Ryan Ruocco orDave Pasch filling in when Tirico had other commitments. TheNBA Countdown studio team consisted of hostSage Steele, and analystsJalen Rose andDoug Collins. ABC's second team of Tirico and Brown also comprised the lead team for NBA Finals coverage onESPN Radio, withKevin Calabro subbing in for Tirico on some occasions.

Jackson briefly left the broadcast booth to serve as head coach of theGolden State Warriors from2011 to2014. Before the2011–12 season, ABC reassignedStuart Scott to another role while the studio team worked without a main host in a more free-flowing approach. This experiment ended before the2013–14 season, when Sage Steele became the lead host ofCountdown.Magic Johnson,Jon Barry, Michael Wilbon, Bill Simmons, and Chris Broussard have previously served as analysts forNBA Countdown.

For the2016–17 season, Mark Jones replaced Mike Tirico as part of the secondary broadcast team with Hubie Brown as Tirico left forNBC. Also, Doug Collins leftNBA Countdown and joined ESPN's roster of game analysts, returning to a position he previously held while working with NBC and TNT. Steele was replaced as host byMichelle Beadle during the season.

For the2019–20 season, ABC's pregame show was completely revamped. ESPN decided to drop Beadle, who had been granted a buyout at the company, andChauncey Billups, though he would remain with ESPN as a regular game analyst until he left the company to take a coaching job with theLos Angeles Clippers. Beadle's role would end up being split betweenMaria Taylor, who also worked ABC'scollege football game of the week, andRachel Nichols, host of the popular ESPN showThe Jump.Richard Jefferson andJay Williams were brought in to replace Billups, with the network retainingJalen Rose andPaul Pierce. Nichols would also be ABC's pregame host for theNBA Finals. ESPN also decided to replaceNBA Countdown withThe Jump for theirNBA Saturday Primetime pregame show.NBA Countdown would remain the main pregame show forNBA Sunday Showcase.

Those plans did not continue as planned after March 8, as the NBAsuspended play due to thecoronavirus pandemic. Because of that, Nichols resorted to theNBA Bubble at theESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at theWalt Disney World Resort inOrlando, FL, where the NBA restarted their season and held thePlayoffs, where she eventually tookDoris Burke's spot as sideline reporter for theFinals, meaning Taylor was elevated to host the NBA Finals on ABC, andCountdown being restored as ABC's pregame show.

For the2020–21 season, Nichols was tapped to serve as a sideline reporter forNBA Saturday Primetime, meaning Taylor was promoted to Nichols' spot as host, withCountdown being restored as a pregame show. After he was part of an inappropriateInstagram video, ESPN quietly dropped Pierce on April 6, without replacement for the remainder of the season. Before the2021 NBA Finals, Nichols was removed in favor ofMalika Andrews after a video revealed Nichols uttering racially insensitive comments towardsblack colleague Taylor. Soon after, Taylor departed to join NBC Sports, and Nichols was removed from all ESPN programming.

For the2021–22 season, Lisa Salters replaced Nichols as the primary sideline reporter, andMike Greenberg replaced Taylor onNBA Countdown along with returning analysts Michael Wilbon,Stephen A. Smith, Jalen Rose andMagic Johnson.

Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy missed Game 1 of the2022 NBA Finals due to COVID-19 protocols,^[126] and Mark Jones filled in for Breen. Jones, Mark Jackson, and Lisa Salters made history in Game 1 as the first all-black broadcast team to cover an NBA Finals game.

In Game 5 of the2023 NBA Finals, Breen called his 100th NBA Finals game, becoming the first national TV play-by-play voice to reach the milestone, and the third overall following former Lakers announcerChick Hearn and former Celtics announcerJohnny Most. However, that game would be Jeff Van Gundy^[127] and Mark Jackson's last assignments on the network, as both were laid off on June 30 and July 31, respectively.^{[128][129][130][131]} As a result,Doris Burke andDoc Rivers replace the pair on the lead broadcast team, the latter returning as a lead analyst for the first time since 2004 and the former becoming the first woman to call a major men's championship.^{[132][133][134][135]} The secondary team was also revamped, now featuringRyan Ruocco,JJ Redick, andRichard Jefferson.^[135][136] However, Rivers left in January 2024 to become head coach of theMilwaukee Bucks, leaving only Breen and Burke on the lead team.^{[137][138][139][140][141]} In February, ESPN promoted Redick to the lead team of Breen and Burke.^{[142][143][144]}

The2024 NBA Finals on ABC^[145] marked the first and only Finals to be called by the team of Breen, Burke and Redick, and sideline reporter Salters.^[146] This also made Burke the first woman to serve as a television analyst for a major men's professional championship event.^[134] Shortly after the Finals, however, Redick was hired to coach the Lakers, again leaving only Breen, Burke and Salters on the lead team.^[147] For the 2024–25 season, Breen and Burke were initially joined by a rotating cast of second analysts;^[148] it was then announced on February 24, 2025, that Jefferson will remain with Breen and Burke for the rest of the season.^[149]

Ahead of the 2025–26 season, ESPN changed its lead broadcast team on ABC for a fourth time since 2023, replacing Doris Burke withTim Legler. Burke would remain with the network but in a less prominent role.^[150]

Between2012 and2019, the NBA lost 40 to 45 percent of its viewership. While some of it can be attributed to "cable-cutting", other professional leagues, like theNFL andMLB have retained stable viewership demographics. The opening game of the2020 Finals between theLos Angeles Lakers andMiami Heat brought in only 7.41 million viewers to ABC, according toThe Hollywood Reporter. That is reportedly the lowest viewership seen for the Finals since at least1994, when total viewers began to be regularly recorded, and is a 45 percent decline from Game 1 between theGolden State Warriors andToronto Raptors, which had 13.51 million viewers a year earlier. Some attribute this decline to the political stances the league and its players are taking, while others consider load management, the uneven talent distribution between the conferences, and the cord-cutting of younger viewers as the main reason for the decline.^{[151][152][153][154][155]}

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