NBC releases promo for NBA opening night during Sunday Night Football broadcast
The NBA returns to NBC and Peacock next month. And during the NFL’s first Sunday Night Football game of the season, NBC unveiled a 45-second reminder.
During the airing of the Buffalo-Baltimore NFL matchup, NBC released a new promo — one featuring the lineup of some of its announcers and analysts, done in the same way that NBA teams announce their starters pregame.
It promoted NBC’s opening night doubleheader on Oct. 21 when MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder play host to Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets, followed by Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors visiting LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Featured in the spot: Grant Hill (who rips away his warm-up suit to reveal a dress suit and tie), Vince Carter (who puts on a headset), Reggie Miller (who autographs a dress shoe, tosses it to a fan in the stands and fakes a choking gesture before fixing his tie), Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony and Jamal Crawford.
“That’s my team,” says Mike Tirico, the lead play-by-play voice for NBA games on NBC and Peacock.
Tirico makes that comment as he stands amid Gilgeous-Alexander and fellow Thunder stars Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who are acting confused.
“Are we supposed to play them?” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Doing the crossover promotion on Sunday Night Football made sense; those games have been prime-time television’s No. 1 show for 14 straight years, NBC said. Versions of the spot will re-air across numerous NBCUniversal linear, digital and social media platforms.
“NBA player introductions have always played a big role in getting the arena crowd — and the people watching at home — excited for the game,” said Joseph Lee, NBCUniversal’s senior vice president for creative marketing, sports and entertainment.
NBC is returning to the NBA world this season, with the league’s new 11-year, $76 billion series of broadcast deals with ABC-ESPN, NBC-Peacock and Amazon Prime Video about to formally begin.
For the most part, the NBA’s 2025-26 national telecast schedule generally will feature Mondays on Peacock, Tuesdays on NBC, Wednesdays on ESPN, Thursdays on Prime Video, Fridays on Prime Video and ESPN, Saturdays on Prime Video in the afternoon and ABC at night, and Sundays on ABC in the afternoon and NBC at night.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
