The NBA’s new national TV broadcast rights deal goes into effect this fall, as the league will begin raking in billions from its three network partners — ESPN, NBC and Amazon. While ESPN retained its rights from the previous deal, NBC is back in the mix and Amazon is a newcomer in the pro basketball space.
And while the new TV partners resulted in the exit of longtime partner TNT (the beloved “Inside the NBA” studio show is headed to ESPN), the involvement of two new networks created a number of opportunities for former players to take on analyst roles, both in studio and calling games. Current and future Hall of Famers are among those involved, as well as some familiar faces fans are accustomed to from ESPN and TNT.
Below you can find the complete list of game and studio analysts for both of the NBA’s new network partners — as well as one important “special contributor”.
Amazon
Studio analysts: Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Udonis Haslem
Game / studio analysts: Candace Parker, Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash
Game analysts: Stan Van Gundy, Brent Barry, Dell Curry
Griffin and Nowitzki are the two most exciting additions Amazon made because they’re the two fresh faces in terms of having little in the way TV experience but possessing the personalities that could create a great on-set chemistry. They’ll be joined in studio by Udonis Haslem, who has done work with ESPN but now elevates his role as a regular on Amazon’s studio show.
NBA signs new TV deal: Details on 11-year, $76 billion deal with ESPN, NBC, Amazon as TNT gets left out
Sam Quinn
There are three big names that will be splitting time between the studio show and game coverage in an effort to limit their travel schedules. Parker and Wade both worked together on TNT’s Tuesday studio show, and both have done game coverage recently — Parker with the NBA on TNT and Wade on the Olympics. Nash’s TV experience is as a soccer analyst, but will now get to talk hoops on both studio and game coverage.
The rest of the game analyst crew are TV veterans, with Dell Curry working on the Hornets local broadcast, Barry spending years at TNT and NBA TV and Van Gundy being part of TNT’s top team in recent years.
NBC
Studio analysts: Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter
Special contributor: Michael Jordan
Game analysts: Reggie Miller, Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill, Austin Rivers, Derek Fisher, Brian Scalabrine, Robbie Hummel, Brad Daugherty
Anthony will be making his TV debut as part of NBC’s studio show, but the soon-to-be Hall of Famer has shown a comfortability on the mic since launching his own podcast. He’ll be joined by Vince Carter, who has spent the past few years at TNT and NBA TV doing studio and game coverage.
They’ll occasionally be joined by the biggest get of anyone in NBA media free agency, as Michael Jordan signed on as a “special contributor” with a purposefully vague title and role for the most legendary figure in the game. He does not have a defined schedule, but any time he shows up, whether for a night in studio, doing an interview or in a pre-taped video feature, people will tune in and listen to what he’s got to say.
The game coverage crew for NBC also went heavy on familiar faces. Reggie Miller, Jamal Crawford and Grant Hill all come over from TNT. Scalabrine has been doing Celtics local broadcasts for years, Daugherty is part of the Cavs local team and Hummel will add NBA games to his college schedule. Rivers will make his debut as a game analyst after doing some studio work for ESPN, while Fisher will do the same.
