| NBA on NBC | |
|---|---|
 Logo since 2025 | |
| Also known as |
|
| Genre | NBA game telecasts |
| Directed by | Pierre Moosa |
| Presented by | |
| Theme music composer | John Tesh |
| Opening theme | "Roundball Rock" |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Sam Flood |
| Producer | Frank DiGraci |
| Production locations |
|
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 150 minutes or until game ends |
| Production company | NBC Sports |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | October 30, 1954 (1954-10-30) – April 7, 1962 (1962-04-07) |
| Release | November 3, 1990 (1990-11-03) – June 12, 2002 (2002-06-12) |
| Network | |
| Release | October 21, 2025 (2025-10-21) – present |
| Related | |
Television broadcasts ofNational Basketball Association (NBA) games produced byNBC Sports have aired on American broadcast networkNBC under theNBA on NBC branding throughout three incarnations in its history.
The NBA was first televised by NBC from1954 to1962. In 1990, the NBA returned to NBC under a multi-year contract which coincided with the dynastic run ofMichael Jordan and theChicago Bulls; the league rose to unprecedented popularity, withratings surpassing the days ofMagic Johnson andLarry Bird in the mid-1980s. NBC's coverage ended after the2001–02 season after a 12-year run, when NBC was outbid for the broadcast television contract byDisney (viaABC).
In July 2024, it was announced thatNBCUniversal had regained rights to the NBA under a new contract, beginning in the2025–26 season, under the titleNBA on NBC and Peacock, which will see coverage on NBC and streaming platformPeacock.NBCSN was later added in November to televise select games.
NBC's first tenure with the NBA[1][2][3] began on October 30, 1954, and lasted until April 7, 1962. NBC's very first NBA telecast was a game between theBoston Celtics andRochester Royals inRochester.
For the1954–55 season,Marty Glickman andLindsey Nelson called all games except on April 9 (Fort Wayne atSyracuse during theplayoffs), when Glickman worked withJim Gordon. Nelson would later write in his autobiography,Hello Everybody, I'm Lindsey Nelson[4] thatNBA commissionerMaurice Podoloff would travel to the televised games and, when NBC needed to get in a commercial, he would go up to one of the coaches and say, "Call a timeout," and they had to, since the commissioner ordered it. On March 19, 1955, during theplayoffs, NBC gave the national spotlight to theNew York Knicks and risingBoston Celtics at New York City'sMadison Square Garden.
For the first year of NBC's tenure, the first five weeks of coverage followed aCanadian Football League game. That contract decreed that the network show 13 games (along with presumably theGrey Cup) on Saturday afternoons beginning in late August, and was signed one week after NBC had lost therights to NCAA football toABC.
Thefollowing year, Lindsey Nelson was paired withCurt Gowdy on commentary for all games except on February 25 (St. Louis atNew York), March 3 (Minneapolis atRochester with Nelson working withJoe Lapchick), and March 24 (Fort Wayne at St. Louis with Nelson working alone). On March 31, 1956, NBC broadcast the first nationally televisedNBA Finals game, which was Game 1 of thePhiladelphia-Fort Wayneseries.
Gowdy and Nelson were retained as the primary broadcast team for NBC in1956–57 except on March 23 and 30 (St. Louis atBoston), when Nelson worked by himself. While the team of Gowdy and Nelson again did most games in1957–58, Nelson worked the December 14 telecast (Syracuse atDetroit) withChick Hearn, who in return, worked the January 11 telecast (Syracuse atCincinnati) with Gowdy. For the January 18 telecast (Detroit atSt. Louis), Nelson worked alone while on February 1 (Syracuse atMinneapolis), Nelson was paired withBill O'Donnell. Meanwhile, Gowdy worked alone on March 1 (Cincinnati atPhiladelphia).
NBC also during the 1957–58 season, broadcast a game in Detroit between Cincinnati and the Pistons on March 15. It was after this game, on the flight home toCincinnati, thatMaurice Stokes became ill and later suffered aseizure, fell into a coma and was left permanently paralyzed. This was the delayed reaction from having hit his head in a game three days earlier. Stokes died in April 1970.
In the1958–59 season, Curt Gowdy worked alone on all games except on March 15 (New York atSyracuse, when Gowdy worked withBud Palmer), April 5 (Minneapolis atBoston with Lindsey Nelson). The1959 NBA All-Star Game[5] marked the first time that theAll-Star Game was nationally televised. However, NBC only broadcast the second half[6] at 10 p.m.Eastern Time, in lieu of itsFriday Night Fights telecast. The fact that the All-Star Game prior to this, was almost always played on a Tuesday night meant that NBC would have had to sacrifice most, if not all, of their evening programming. In the first few years, that would have meant taking offMilton Berle'sprogram, which was starting to slide, but still would have made more money for the network than a pro basketball game. Plus, NBA owners weren't terribly savvy when it came to working with television in this era, so they probably refused network requests to put it in a weekend afternoon slot.
During the1959–60 season, Curt Gowdy worked alone most on Saturday games while Lindsey Nelson worked alone on most Sunday games. Nelson also worked on Saturday April 2 (St. Louis atBoston) during theplayoffs. Marty Glickman meanwhile, worked alone on December 6 (St. Louis atCincinnati), January 2–3 (New York Knicks at Cincinnati and Boston atSyracuse), February 28 (Philadelphia atDetroit), March 13 (Philadelphia at Syracuse), 20 (Boston at Philadelphia), and 27 (St. Louis at Boston), and April 3 (Boston at St. Louis). Finally, Bill O'Donnell worked alone on March 12 (Minneapolis atDetroit), 19 (St. Louis at Minneapolis), and 26 (Minneapolis at St. Louis).
In the1960–61 season, Lindsey Nelson was alone on all games except when he worked with Bud Palmer on October 22 (New York atCincinnati) and 29 (New York atDetroit), November 26 (Syracuse atBoston), December 3 (New York at Syracuse), 10 (Syracuse at Detroit), and 24 (Detroit at Boston).Jerry Doggett helped call games on November 5 (Syracuse atLos Angeles) and 19 (Detroit at Los Angeles). Marty Glickman contributed to commentary on January 8 (Boston atSt. Louis), 15 (Philadelphia at Syracuse), 22 (St. Louis at Cincinnati), and 29 (Philadelphia at Boston), February 19 (Boston at Syracuse) and 26 (Boston at Detroit), March 12 (Boston at Syracuse), 19 (Syracuse at Boston), and 26 (Syracuse at Boston), and April 2 (St. Louis at Boston).
For NBC'sfinal season of their first stint with the NBA, Bud Palmer worked alone on commentary on all games except for on February 3 (Cincinnati atNew York) and April 7 (Los Angeles atBoston), when he was paired withBob Wolff.
NBC'sratings[7] during this time period were lukewarm at best. By 1962,[8] NBA ratings for NBC's Saturday afternoon games dipped to 4.8 (9 million viewers) as compared to Sunday afternoon NFL ratings of 10.4 (15 million viewers). As a matter of fact, CBS was at one point, getting better ratings[9] for theirNational Hockey League (NHL)telecasts than NBC was getting with the NBA. One possible factor for the dipping ratings the fact that NBC's 1960–61 schedule placed the three weakest teams--Cincinnati,Syracuse, andDetroit on television a total of 14 times. In comparison, three of the NBA's best teams--Boston,St. Louis, andPhiladelphia—appeared on NBC a total of only seven times.
On November 9, 1989,[10] the NBA reached an agreement with NBC worth US$600 million[11][12] to broadcast the NBA's games for four years, beginning with the1990–91 season.[13][14][15] On April 28, 1993, NBC extended its exclusive broadcast rights to the NBA with a four-year, $750 million contract.[16][17]
NBC's coverage of the NBA[18] began on Christmas Day each season, with the exception of the inaugural season in 1990 (which featured a game on November 3, 1990[19] between theLos Angeles Lakers and theSan Antonio Spurs), the1997–98 season (which included apreseason tournament featuring theChicago Bulls), the1998–99 season (as no Christmas games were played due to the1998–99 NBA lockout), and the final season of NBC's contract in2001–02 (which included two early season games featuring the return ofMichael Jordan with theWashington Wizards). NBC aired theNBA All-Star Game every year (with the exception of1999, when the game was canceled due to the lockout), usually at 6:00 pm, Eastern Time. In 2002, NBC aired the game an hour earlier (at 5:00 pm, Eastern) due to theWinter Olympics later that evening. Starting in2000, during the NBA Playoffs, NBC would air tripleheaders on Saturdays and Sundays during the first two weeks of the playoffs. Prior to 2000, NBC would air a doubleheader on Saturday, followed by a tripleheader on Sunday.
On December 30, 2000, NBC aired a rare second December game. The Saturday match was the only time that NBC aired a game between Christmas Day and the start of the regular run of games in February. In2001, NBC was scheduled to air an October preseason game involving an NBA team playing an international team; that game was canceled due to theSeptember 11 attacks. During the 2001–02 NBA season, NBC added a significant number of Washington Wizards games to its schedule (due to the aforementioned return of Michael Jordan). When Jordan became injured during the middle of the season, NBC replaced the added Wizards games with the games that had been originally on the schedule (for example, a March 2002 game between the Wizards andOrlando Magic was replaced at the last minute with anIndiana Pacers–Sacramento Kings game).
The pre-game show for NBC's NBA telecasts wasNBA Showtime, a title that was used from1990 until2000, with the pre-game being unbranded afterward.Showtime was originally hosted byBob Costas from the inaugural season of the 1990 contract to the1995–96 season;Hannah Storm took over as host beginning with the1996–97 season, who in turn was replaced byAhmad Rashad in 2001 when Storm went onmaternity leave. The video gameNBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, byMidway Games, was named after the pregame show.
During the NBA Finals, additional coverage would be immediately available onCNBC, in which the panelists provided an additional half-hour of in-depth game discussions, after the NBC broadcast network's coverage concluded.
The halftime show was sponsored byPrudential Financial (Prudential Halftime Report), and laterNetZero (NetZero at the Half) andVerizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless at the Half). The broadcasts also featured a segment during the live games calledMiller Genuine Moments, which provided a brief retrospective on a particular historically significant and/or dramatic moment in NBA history; this segment was discontinued towards the end of NBC's coverage. The song used as the soundtrack for theMiller Genuine Moments segment was "Black Hole" byJohn Tesh.[20] For a brief period in 2001–02, NBC aired a studio segment called24, in which each analyst (at that time,Pat Croce,Jayson Williams or Mike Fratello) would have 24 seconds to talk about issues concerning the NBA. NBC (in conjunction with completely revamping the pregame show) discontinued the segment in February 2002, after Williams was arrested on murder charges.
During its twelve-year run, theNBA on NBC experienced ratings highs and lows for the NBA. In the 1990s, the NBA Finals ratings were stellar, with the exception of the1999 Finals. In1998, the NBA set a Finals ratings record, with an 18.7 household rating for the secondChicago Bulls–Utah Jazz series, the last championship run by the Michael Jordan-led Bulls. The very next year (after a lockout which erased part of the season), the ratings for the 1999 Finals plummeted, marking the beginning of an ongoing period of lower viewership for the league's game telecasts.[21] In 2002, NBC set a record for the highest-ratedWestern Conference Final, including a 14.2 rating for Game 7 of the series between theLos Angeles Lakers andSacramento Kings.
NBC's highest-rated regular season game was Michael Jordan's first game back from playingMinor League Baseball; the March1995 game between theChicago Bulls andIndiana Pacers scored a 10.9 rating (higher than all but three NBA telecasts onABC). As a comparison, the first game in Jordan's second comeback (a game against theNew York Knicks that aired onTBS opposite the2001 World Series) scored a rating between a 3.0 and 4.0. NBC's first game of Jordan's second comeback scored ratings similar to that number.
Several NBA observers accused NBC and the NBA of being biased with only certain teams and individual players. NBC benefited from havingall of the Finals it televised involve the large-marketChicago Bulls,Los Angeles Lakers,New York Knicks,New Jersey Nets,Philadelphia 76ers orHouston Rockets; however, smaller-market teams such as those inSan Antonio,Sacramento,Phoenix,Seattle,Portland,Utah,Indiana,Orlando, andMilwaukee all made regular appearances on NBC during its run. All nine listed teams made at least one Conference Final with San Antonio, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Utah, Indiana, and Orlando making the NBA Finals at least once.
Upon the expiration of NBC Sports' contract with the NBA in2002, the NBA signed a broadcast television rights agreement withABC,[22] which began airing games in the2002–03 season. NBC had made a four-year, US$1.3 billion bid in the spring of 2002 to renew its NBA rights, but the NBA instead made the initial six-year deals worth $4 billion withESPN,ABC, andTNT.[23][24]
The new media deal at the time highly incentivized airing games on cable television. The major leagues received more money from cable[25] than broadcast, due to the dual revenue stream of subscriptions and ad revenue. NBC could not compete with the combined broadcast and cable[26] deal thatDisney had with ESPN and ABC. When NBC's relationship with the NBA ended, their only cable properties then wereCNBC andMSNBC. Whereas NBC normally televised 33 regular season games per year, ABC would generally air fewer than 20 regular season games annually. According toNBA CommissionerDavid Stern, the reduced number of network telecasts was at the NBA's own request since the NBA believed that they would get a higher audience for a single game (in contrast to NBC's tripleheaders). The NBA saw its NBC ratings[27] for the regular season fall from 4.3 in 1999 to 3.0 in 2000. Meanwhile, the playoff ratings[28] dipped from 6.5 to 4.9.
As well as that, NBC began to lose money on the NBA[29] after signing a new media deal in 1998. NBC lost $100 million on the NBA in the 2000–01 season.[30] By December 2001, NBC was projecting a $200-million loss on the 2001–02 season.[31] Additionally, NBC lost $35 million[32] because of the failure of theXFL the previous year. AsCharles Barkley summed it up during halftime of Game 1 of the2002 NBA Finals:[33]
If y'all hadn't wasted all that money on the XFL, y'all would still have basketball.
In response to the impending loss of NBA coverage, NBC Entertainment presidentJeff Zucker said:
We lostfootball two years ago, and we stayed a strong No. 1. We lostbaseball, and we stayed a strong No. 1. Now we're about to lose basketball, and I believe we'll stay a strong No. 1. The fact is, it's had no impact on our prime time strength. . . NBC can now program all of Sunday nights without going around basketball. I think that's a huge advantage for us. We haven't been able for the last several years to put a program at 8 o'clock (such asAmerican Dreams) because we've had the NBA.
NBC Sports chairmanDick Ebersol said:
The definition of winning has become distorted. If winning the rights to a property brings with it hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, what have you won? When faced with the prospect of heavy financial losses, we have consistently walked away and have done so again. ... We wish the NBA all the best. We have really enjoyed working with them for more than a decade to build the NBA brand.[35]
Ebersol added:
We walked away from the N.F.L., because it was the right thing to do, and we stayed No. 1 in prime-time in all the important aspects. We walked away from baseball because it was the right thing to do and we don't have to take off our fall shows to show playoff games. The N.B.A. was asking us to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.[36]
NBC network presidentRandy Falco said:
We have a responsibility to our shareholders.
NBC's final NBA telecast during its second iteration was Game 4 of the2002 NBA Finals, which closed with highlights from the network's 12-year run with the league, through the Chicago Bulls' dynasty led by Michael Jordan andScottie Pippen, the retirement ofLarry Bird andMagic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers' new Shaq/Kobe reign. The final image of the end montage was set in an empty gym, showing a basketball bouncing into the background and ending with the message, "Thanks for The Memories" and a final appearance of theNBA on NBC logo on the bottom. Prior to the sequence, match commentatorsMarv Albert,Steve Jones andBill Walton evaluated the end of their NBA contract and of the series. After that, Bob Costas closed the network's last NBA broadcast with the following:
Okay, Marv, thanks very much. And as Marv himself would say, "it should be pointed out" that Marv is celebrating his forty-ninth birthday tonight for a record twelfth consecutive year. Well, another season is in the books. The Lakers' title run continues with perhaps no end in sight. But as Marv said, we have reached the end of our run with the NBA. NBC's twelve years televising the league had been filled with indelible moments. And so, as we say good night, here's an appreciative look back. And for one last time, you've been watching theNBA on NBC.
From 2002 to2006, the NBA's ratings on broadcast television (ABC) dropped almost a full ratings point (from nearly a 3.0 average rating to just above a 2.0 rating). NBC averaged a 5.5 average rating during the2002 NBA playoffs. ABC averaged a 3.3 average rating for the2005 NBA playoffs.
Withintwo years of NBC losing the NBA rights, NBC dropped to fourth place in the prime time television rankings for the first time in its history, which was also partly the result of a weaker prime time schedule (outside ofSunday Night Football), and would more or less remain there foralmost nine years.
On July 23, 2024, NBC parent companyComcast confirmed in a conference call with its investors that NBC Sports had secured an agreement with the NBA on an 11-year media rights deal beginning in the 2025–26 season, marking the NBA's return to NBC after a 23-year absence.[38] An official announcement of the agreement was released by the NBA and NBC the following day, alongside other deals with incumbents ABC/ESPN and newcomerAmazon.[39][40] The $2.5 billion per season agreement will see games broadcast on NBC and streamed onPeacock:[41][42][43][44]
NBC will revive theNBA Showtime title for itspre-game show. ForSunday Night Basketball games, NBC will airBasketball Night in America (in reference to theSunday Night Football pre-game showFootball Night in America) from the site of the game.[46]
Starting on November 17, Peacock-exclusive Monday night games will also air on the relaunchedNBC Sports Network.[47]
| Season | 1990–91 | 1991–92 | 1992–93 | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1999 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 | 2030–31 | 2031–32 | ||||
| Games | 46 | 52 | 55 | 55 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 58 | 71 | 69 | 69 | |||||||||||
| Contracts | $601 million/4 years | $892 million/4 years | $1.616 billion/4 years | $27.5 billion/11 years | |||||||||||||||||||
NBC's first broadcast team of the 1990s–2000s era was made up ofMarv Albert[48] andMike Fratello, with Ahmad Rashad serving as sideline reporter. Other broadcasters at the time includedDick Enberg andSteve "Snapper" Jones, both of whom comprised NBC's "B" team. Aside from Rashad,Jim Gray and Hannah Storm also handled sideline reporting duties; before becoming the television voice of the Spurs, Lakers andPelicans,Joel Meyers also started as a sideline reporter for NBC. Bob Costas[49] presided as host of the network's pre-game show,NBA Showtime, while also providing play-by-play as a fill-in when necessary. During the Playoffs,Don Criqui andJoel Meyers were also used, with Criqui for play-by-play and Meyers mainly as a sideline analyst.
In 1992, shortly after announcing his retirement, basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson became a top game analyst (alongside the likes of Enberg, Albert and Fratello); however, his performance was heavily criticized.[50] Among the complaints were his apparently poordiction skills, his tendency for "stating the obvious", his habitual references to his playing days, and an overall lackluster chemistry with his broadcasting partners. Johnson would ultimately be slowly phased out of theNBA on NBC after helping commentate the1993 NBA Finals.
In 1993, Mike Fratello left the booth (to become the head coach of theCleveland Cavaliers) and was replaced withMatt Guokas. Albert and Guokas broadcast the1994 NBA Finals and were joined for the1995 NBA Finals byBill Walton. Albert, Guokas and Walton, while not working regular season games together (Walton usually worked games with Steve Jones and play-by-play announcersDick Enberg,Tom Hammond orGreg Gumbel), broadcast the next two Finals (1996 and1997) together in a three-man booth.
1997 was the last time Marv Albert called the NBA Finals for NBC during the decade, as an embarrassingsex scandal forced NBC to fire Albert before the start of the1997–1998 season. To replace Albert, NBC tapped studio host Bob Costas for play-by-play. Matt Guokas did not return to his post as main color commentator, and was replaced by NBA legendIsiah Thomas; Costas was replaced on the pre-game show by Hannah Storm, whom she replaced in the1997 NBA Finals. Midway through the season, Costas and Thomas were joined by recently firedDetroit Pistons coachDoug Collins. Collins served to take some weight off Thomas, who was considered by some to be uncomfortable in the role of lead analyst. Thomas, in particular, was singled out for his soft voice and often stammered analysis.[51] Greg Gumbel remained on NBC as its secondary announcer, but left after the All-Star break and rejoinedCBS Sportsfollowing the network's acquisition of American Football Conference rights from NBC. As a result, Tom Hammond stepped in as the new secondary announcer, a role he held for the remainder of Costas' run as a lead play-by-play voice.
The team of Costas, Thomas, and Collins worked the major games that season, including the 1998 NBA Finals (which set an all-time ratings record for the NBA).Mike Breen, who was backup announcer to Albert onMSG Network's New York Knicks broadcasts, was hired to do select playoff games that year and was later promoted to backup announcer status for the rest of the NBA's run on NBC. For the1998–99 season, Thomas was moved to the studio, while Costas and Collins made up the lead team. The 1998–1999 season, which was marred by a lengthylockout (which resulted in the regular season being shortened to 50 games) included the low-rated1999 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. Albert was brought back for the1999–2000 season, making a return which included calling that year's lead Christmas Day game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers fromStaples Center. Albert split duties with both NBC andTurner Sports for the remainder of his NBC tenure, having been hired by Turner the previous year to call games forTBS andTNT; he would remain with the latter network until his retirement in 2021.
The 2000–2001 season brought to an end to Bob Costas' direct role with theNBA on NBC (although Costas worked playoff games for the next two seasons and returned to host NBC's coverage for the2002 NBA Finals). Costas deferred to Marv Albert, allowing Albert to again be the lead broadcaster for the NBA, and stayed on only to deliver interviews and special features. On the studio front, Hannah Storm left her position as studio host to go onmaternity leave, with Ahmad Rashad taking over for Storm; Isiah Thomas left NBC to become coach of the Indiana Pacers. Joining Rashad were formerPhoenix Suns playerKevin Johnson and former NBA coachP. J. Carlesimo, with Carlesimo also filling in as backup analyst during select playoff games until 2002. Marv Albert joined Doug Collins as the lead broadcast team, and the two broadcast the2001 NBA Finals, which had the highest ratings for a Finals match since1998. After the season, Collins was hired away from NBC by the Washington Wizards, which forced the network to move the longtime secondary color duo of Steve Jones and Bill Walton to the lead broadcast team with Albert.
During the 2001 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and thePhiladelphia 76ers, NBC decided to cross-promote its NBA coverage with its then-popular quiz showThe Weakest Link. Two 10-minute editions ofThe Weakest Link aired during halftime of Games 2 and 3, featuring Bob Costas, Bill Walton and Steve Jones as contestants, along withCharlotte Hornets guardBaron Davis andWNBA teamLos Angeles Sparks's center,Lisa Leslie.
The2001–2002 season featured several anomalies, as NBC started their coverage on the first Saturday of the season, for the first time since 1991. The reason for this was NBA legend Michael Jordan's return to playing, this time for the Washington Wizards. NBC covered an early December game featuring Jordan's Wizards as well, which marked the first time a broadcast television network aired more than one pre-Christmas NBA game sinceCBS in the 1980s.
That year also marked the return of Hannah Storm from maternity leave, with her and Ahmad Rashad alternating as studio hosts throughout the2002 season. That year, NBC's studio team consisted of Rashad and Storm with former Philadelphia 76ers owner Pat Croce, the returning Mike Fratello, and former player Jayson Williams. The tandem stayed together through the2002 NBA All-Star Game. During the week between the All-Star Game and NBC's next scheduled telecast, Williams was arrested after shooting and killing his limousine driver. He was promptly fired by NBC, which also did not return Croce or Fratello to studio coverage. Instead, the network brought inTom Tolbert, who had only recently been added to NBC Sports as a third-string analyst paired with Mike Breen. Tolbert stayed on as the lone studio analyst through the end of the season, and won acclaim by several in the media, includingUSA Today sports columnist Rudy Martzke. Hannah Storm was not able to anchor the2002 NBA All-Star Game as she was on assignment at the2002 Winter Olympics inSalt Lake City serving as daytime studio host; Rashad solo anchored from the studio.
In June 2002, Rashad told theLos Angeles Times, in an interview conducted before the2002 NBA Finals began, that he would be ending his 20-year run with NBC Sports, after hosting the pre-game show for Game 3 of the Finals.[52] Hannah Storm, meanwhile, covered the 2002 NBA Finals as host of the CNBC post-game show.
Two days before NBC was to begin its playoff coverage, both Marv Albert and Mike Fratello, returning from working a Philadelphia 76ers–Indiana Pacers game onTNT, were seriously injured in a limousine accident. That week, NBC juggled its announcing teams, which resulted in Bob Costas andPaul Sunderland working some early-round playoff games, paired withMike Dunleavy.[53] Fratello would return to TNT after several days, and Albert returned to NBC for Game 1 of the Western Conference Semi-finals between theDallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings.
The season would also turn out to beNBC's last with the NBA. In January 2002, the league announced a six-year agreement withThe Walt Disney Company andAOL Time Warner, which resulted in the broadcast television rights being acquired by ABC. That year, NBC's playoff ratings were much higher than in previous years, including tallying record-high ratings for the2002 Western Conference Finals. Those high ratings did not translate to theFinals, which scored their lowest ratings in over two decades.
For its revived NBA coverage, NBC Sports appointedMike Tirico to be its lead play-by-play commentator. He had previously called NBA games forESPN andABC from 2002 to 2016. For his first season, he is expected to call one or more games per week after his commitments toSunday Night Football,Super Bowl LX, and the2026 Winter Olympics end. Before then, he will call select games such as the NBA season opener.[54][55] NBC Sports additionally appointedNoah Eagle as its number two play-by-play announcer, where he is expected to call games throughout the season. This includes the2026 NBA All-Star Game.[56] During the fall, he will call games in addition to handling duties forBig Ten Saturday Night.[57]Terry Gannon, Michael Grady, andMark Followill were also appointed as play-by-play announcers.[58][59] For game analysts, NBC Sports' roster includesJamal Crawford,Reggie Miller,Grant Hill,Austin Rivers,Derek Fisher,Brian Scalabrine,Robbie Hummel, andBrad Daugherty.[60][59] As NBC's top two game analysts, Crawford and Miller are expected to work one or more games per week throughout the season.[61][62] NBC's team of sideline reporters consist of Zora Stephenson, Jordan Cornette, andAshley ShahAhmadi.[63] College basketball play-by-play announcer John Fanta also joined as an occasional reporter.Maria Taylor will serve as the primary studio host for NBA games on Sunday and Tuesday nights, having previously served the same role for ESPN'sNBA Countdown.[64] Monday night games on Peacock will be hosted byAhmed Fareed.[65] Former NBA All-StarsCarmelo Anthony,Vince Carter, andTracy McGrady will join NBC as full-time studio analysts, while Rivers and Scalabrine will make occasional appearances in studio as well.[66][67][59][68] FormerAtlanta Hawks executive Grant Liffmann will serve as a front office insider and occasional sideline reporter for NBC.[63] Additionally,Michael Jordan will also join NBC as a special contributor.[69]
The Monday-night games will feature an "On the Bench" commentary setup similar to the "Inside the Glass" feature from the formerNHL on NBC, in which the two analysts will be positioned behind each team's bench with access to their respective assistant coach.[70]
Jim Fagan provided voice-over work for NBC's NBA coverage, in particular the introduction "This is the NBA on NBC". He also did several voice-over promotions for the network's game broadcasts.[71] Les Marshak and Mitch Phillips also did voice-over work for the broadcasts, primarily forpromotions.[72]
In 2025, as part of its return to NBA coverage, NBC Sports revealed that it had received permission from the family of Fagan (who had died in 2017) todigitally clone his voice for on-air use during its NBA broadcasts and promos.[73]
The theme music for theNBA on NBC broadcasts is "Roundball Rock", composed bynew-age artistJohn Tesh. The instrumental piece, first composed in 1990 for NBC, soundtracked the network's NBA coverage from 1990 to 2002.[74] During periods when NBC has not broadcast the NBA, it has used the theme for its Olympic basketball coverage, first in 2008 and then in every Summer Olympics since 2016.[75][76][77][78]
"Roundball Rock" returned as NBC's theme music for its revived coverage.[79] TheSunday Night Basketball package will also feature a new theme song performed byLenny Kravitz, following the example ofCarrie Underwood's opening theme forSunday Night Football.[46]
NBC showedWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) games from1997 to2002 as part of theirNBA on NBC[80][81] coverage before the league transferred the rights[82] toABC/ESPN.[83][84][85] The network is set to return to airing WNBA games in 2026 as part of NBC's latest 11-year media rights agreement with the NBA.[38][86]
FollowingNBC's $2.7 billion purchase ofTelemundo Communications Group fromSony Pictures andLiberty Media on October 11, 2001,Deportes Telemundo began to gradually be integrated into NBC Sports, although it would maintain sports programming rights separate from the main NBC broadcast network and its sister cable channels.[87] Under NBC (which ironically lost the rights to the league that year toABC), on August 20, 2002, Telemundo signed a three-year agreement with the NBA for the Spanish language broadcast rights to 15 NBA and up to tenWNBA regular season games; Telemundo and the NBA did not renew the deal upon its expiration following the2004–05 season.[88][89][90]
Beginning in 2025, Telemundo will return to airing select NBA games as a part of NBC's latest 11-year media rights agreement.[38] For the first season, Telemundo will air 10 of NBC's 11 Sunday Night Basketball games, the2026 NBA All-Star Game, and the NBA's Mexico Game.
Since 2011,NBCUniversal owns and operates a group ofregional sports networks under the brandingNBC Sports Regional Networks (formerly known as Comcast SportsNet). This includes four networks that currently hold local TV broadcast rights with individual NBA teams:NBC Sports Bay Area (Golden State Warriors),NBC Sports Boston (Boston Celtics),NBC Sports California (Sacramento Kings), andNBC Sports Philadelphia (Philadelphia 76ers).
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Preceded by | NBA network broadcast partner 1954–1962 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | NBA network broadcast partner 1990–2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None | NBA network broadcast partner 2025–present withABC | Succeeded by – |
| Preceded by | NBA pay television carrier 2025–present withESPN andPrime Video | Succeeded by – |