List of NBA Finals broadcasters

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The following is a list of the television and radio networks and announcers that have broadcast NBA Finals games over the years.

Television

2010s

Year Network Play-by-play announcer Color analyst(s) Sideline reporter(s) Studio host Studio analyst(s) Trophy presentation Officiating analyst
2015 ABC

ESPN Deportes

Mike Breen

Álvaro Martín

Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy

Carlos Morales

Doris Burke

Sebastian Christensen and Claudia Trejos

Sage Steele

Ernesto Jerez

Jalen Rose, Doug Collins and Dwyane Wade (Gms 2,3,6)

Fabricio Oberto

Doris Burke Steve Javie
2014 ABC[1]

ESPN Deportes[2]

Mike Breen

Álvaro Martín

Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy

Carlos Morales and Alejandro Montecchia

Doris Burke

Sebastian Christensen

Sage Steele

Claudia Trejos

Jalen Rose, Doug Collins and Bill Simmons Stuart Scott Steve Javie
2013 ABC[3]

ESPN Deportes[4]

Mike Breen

Álvaro Martín

Jeff Van Gundy

Carlos Morales and Alejandro Montecchia

Doris Burke

Sebastian Christensen

Michael Wilbon

Claudia Trejos

Magic Johnson, Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons

Eduardo Nájera

Doris Burke Steve Javie
2012 ABC[5] Mike Breen Jeff Van Gundy Doris Burke Michael Wilbon Jon Barry, Magic Johnson and Chris Broussard Stuart Scott
2011 ABC[6]

ESPN 3D

Mike Breen

Mark Jones

Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy

Bruce Bowen (Gms 1-2, 5-6) and Tim Legler (Gms 3-4)

Doris Burke Stuart Scott Jon Barry, Michael Wilbon and Magic Johnson Stuart Scott
2010 ABC[7] Mike Breen Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy Doris Burke Stuart Scott Jon Barry, Michael Wilbon and Magic Johnson Stuart Scott
  • Per the current broadcast agreements, the Finals will be broadcast by ABC through 2016.

2000s

Year Network Play-by-play announcer Color analyst(s) Sideline reporter(s) Studio host Studio analyst(s) Trophy presentation
2009 ABC Mike Breen Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy Doris Burke Stuart Scott Jon Barry, Michael Wilbon and Magic Johnson Stuart Scott
2008 ABC Mike Breen Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy Michele Tafoya Stuart Scott Jon Barry, Michael Wilbon and Guest Analysts Stuart Scott
2007 ABC Mike Breen Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy Michele Tafoya and Stuart Scott Dan Patrick Jon Barry, Michael Wilbon and Grant Hill Dan Patrick
2006 ABC Mike Breen Hubie Brown Lisa Salters and Stuart Scott Dan Patrick Mark Jackson and Michael Wilbon Dan Patrick
2005 ABC Al Michaels Hubie Brown Michele Tafoya and Stuart Scott Mike Tirico Bill Walton and Greg Anthony Mike Tirico
2004 ABC Al Michaels Doc Rivers Michele Tafoya and Stuart Scott Mike Tirico Tom Tolbert and Byron Scott Mike Tirico
2003 ABC Brad Nessler Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert Michele Tafoya and Stuart Scott Mike Tirico Sean Elliott and Guest Analysts Mike Tirico
2002 NBC Marv Albert Bill Walton and Steve Jones Jim Gray and Lewis Johnson Bob Costas Tom Tolbert Ahmad Rashad
2001 NBC Marv Albert Doug Collins Jim Gray and Lewis Johnson Ahmad Rashad Kevin Johnson and P. J. Carlesimo Ahmad Rashad
2000 NBC Bob Costas Doug Collins Ahmad Rashad and Jim Gray Hannah Storm Isiah Thomas, Bill Walton and Steve Jones Ahmad Rashad


Notes

  • Although the 2007 NBA Finals aired on ABC (as had been the case since 2003), they were the first to carry the "ESPN on ABC" branding instead of the ABC Sports branding.
    • 2007: The Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers was the lowest rated NBA Finals ever (6.2 percent rating over four games).
    • Since 2007, NBA ratings have steadily risen, thanks to the resurgence of nationally recognized NBA teams, their star power, and their annual presence in the NBA Finals. Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals had the best rating for a basketball game in the contemporary NBA on ABC era, and the 2011 Finals held steady in the ratings department as well. Both series drew over a 10 rating, beating the World Series in consecutive years for the first time ever.
  • 2001: NBC studio host Hannah Storm did not anchor the NBA Finals due to her being on maternity leave, so Ahmad Rashad replaced her. She returned to cover the NBA Finals in 2002, but as post-game host.

1990s

Year Network Play-by-play announcer Color analyst(s) Sideline reporter(s) Studio host Studio analyst(s) Trophy presentation
1999 NBC Bob Costas Doug Collins Ahmad Rashad and Jim Gray Hannah Storm Isiah Thomas, Bill Walton and Peter Vescey Ahmad Rashad
1998 NBC Bob Costas Doug Collins and Isiah Thomas Ahmad Rashad and Jim Gray Hannah Storm Bill Walton, John Salley and Peter Vescey Ahmad Rashad
1997 NBC Marv Albert Matt Guokas and Bill Walton Ahmad Rashad and Jim Gray Hannah Storm Julius Erving, Mike Fratello and Peter Vescey Ahmad Rashad
1996 NBC Marv Albert Matt Guokas and Bill Walton Ahmad Rashad, Hannah Storm and Jim Gray Bob Costas Bob Costas
1995 NBC Marv Albert Matt Guokas and Bill Walton Ahmad Rashad, Hannah Storm and Jim Gray Bob Costas Bob Costas
1994 NBC Marv Albert Matt Guokas Ahmad Rashad and Hannah Storm Bob Costas Bob Costas
1993 NBC Marv Albert Mike Fratello and Magic Johnson Ahmad Rashad and Hannah Storm Bob Costas Quinn Buckner Bob Costas
1992 NBC Marv Albert Mike Fratello and Magic Johnson Ahmad Rashad Bob Costas Quinn Buckner Bob Costas
1991 NBC Marv Albert Mike Fratello Ahmad Rashad and Steve Jones Bob Costas Pat Riley Bob Costas
1990 CBS Dick Stockton Hubie Brown Lesley Visser and James Brown Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien

Notes

  • The retirement of Michael Jordan set in motion the decline in NBA ratings which continued for several years. Ratings for the 1999 NBA Finals (which in fairness, came after a lockout shortened season) were down significantly from the previous year, from an 18.7 to an 11.3. Primetime regular season games, which had become fairly routine (and highly rated) during the Jordan years, set record lows for NBC once Jordan retired. With the rise of the Los Angeles Lakers in the early part of the 2000s (decade), ratings improved, but never to the level of the 1980s or 1990s. The highest NBA Finals ratings on NBC after Jordan left was the 2001 Finals, which featured the dominant and then-defending champion Lakers with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant versus the polarizing Allen Iverson and the underdog Philadelphia 76ers. The ratings for that series were a 12.1, still down 35 percent from 1998. NBC's last Finals, in 2002, came after a resurgence in playoff ratings (including a 14.2 rating for Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals). However, the Finals itself registered the lowest ratings the event had seen since 1981, topping out at a 10.2 average.
  • During the 1997 NBA Finals, Hannah Storm became the first woman to serve as pre-game host of the NBA Finals after serving as a sideline reporter for NBC in the past four years. But she wasn't the first female broadcaster to cover the NBA Finals (that honor goes to Lesley Visser).
  • 1993: Magic Johnson was unavailable for NBC's coverage of Game 6 (the series clincher) because he was attending his brother Larry's wedding.
  • Once Larry Bird and Magic Johnson retired, the NBA's ratings sank, at least for one year. The 1990 NBA Finals, (which was played before either Bird or Johnson retired) which registered a 12.3 rating (and was the last Finals CBS aired) was the lone NBA Finals between the domination of Bird and Magic and the domination of then up-and-coming star Michael Jordan. In 1991, NBC's first year with the NBA, the network got its dream matchup. Jordan's Bulls finally broke through, after several years of being dominated by the Pistons, and made it to the Finals. Jordan and the Bulls played Magic Johnson and the Lakers, who were making what was to be their last appearance in the NBA Finals for the next nine years. The hype for the star-studded series was robust, and the ratings were the highest since 1987, when the Celtics and Lakers played for the final time. The next year, Jordan's Bulls once again made the Finals. Their competition that year was the Portland Trail Blazers, a team with fewer stars and from a smaller city. The ratings fell to a 14.2, the second-lowest rating for the Finals since 1986. In 1993, the NBA hit a high point. The six-game series between the Bulls and the bombastic Charles Barkley's Phoenix Suns averaged a 17.9 rating, a mark that eclipsed the previous record of 15.9.
    • The 1993 Finals were Jordan's last before his first retirement. The Houston Rockets would take the next two titles consecutively. The ratings for those next two Finals decreased, but still had above-average views, and the 1995 Finals even came to within .3 ratings points of the 1992 Finals and featured Superstar Shaquille O'Neal making the Finals with the Orlando Magic, which were swept 4-0 by the Rockets. After the two seasons, Jordan returned. Subsequently, and almost instantly, ratings greatly increased. Jordan's first game back, a March 19, 1995 game between the Bulls and the Indiana Pacers, scored a 10.9 rating for NBC, the highest rated regular-season NBA game of all time. Ratings for the Finals (which the Bulls played in the following three years) went up sharply as well. Game 1 of the 1996 NBA Finals between the Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics, the Bulls' 107-90 win at home in the United Center earned a 16.8 rating and a 31 share on NBC. In addition, Game 1 was viewed in a then record 16,111,200 homes. On June 16, 1996, Game 6 of the NBA Finals (where the Bulls clinched their fourth NBA Championship in six years) drew an 18.8 rating and a 35 share. The six games of the 1996 NBA Finals averaged a 16.7 rating which ranks second all-time behind the 1993 NBA Finals. The six games of the 1993 NBA Finals between the Bulls and Suns averaged a 17.9 rating. The next year, ratings for the Bulls-Utah Jazz series were slightly better, before the 1998 Finals blew away the 1993 record, averaging an 18.7 rating—one which will likely not be matched by the NBA Finals for the foreseeable future. The deciding Game 6 (and Michael Jordan's final game with the Bulls) registered an NBA record 22.3 rating with a 38 share. The game was viewed by 72 million people, breaking the record set earlier that postseason by Game 7 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals between the Pacers and Bulls (that same game set a record for highest-rated non-Finals NBA game with a 19.1/33). The 1998 Finals managed to best the ratings for that year's World Series, the first of only three NBA Finals ever to do so.
  • Game 1 of the 1991 Finals, played on Sunday afternoon June 2, was the last time an NBA finals game was played as a matinee. Since then, weekend games of the Finals (as well as midweek games) have been played in the evening to accommodate prime-time television.

1980s

Year Network Play-by-play announcer Color analyst(s) Sideline reporter(s) Studio host Studio analyst(s) Trophy presentation
1989 CBS Dick Stockton Hubie Brown Pat O'Brien, Lesley Visser and James Brown Brent Musburger and Pat O'Brien (Game 2 Only) Brent Musburger
1988 CBS Dick Stockton Billy Cunningham Pat O'Brien, Lesley Visser and James Brown Brent Musburger and Pat O'Brien (Game 2 only) Brent Musburger
1987 CBS Dick Stockton Tom Heinsohn Pat O'Brien, Lesley Visser and James Brown Brent Musburger Brent Musburger
1986 CBS Dick Stockton Tom Heinsohn Pat O'Brien and Lesley Visser Brent Musburger Julius Erving and Moses Malone Brent Musburger
1985 CBS Dick Stockton Tom Heinsohn Pat O'Brien and Lesley Visser Brent Musburger Brent Musburger
1984 CBS Dick Stockton Tom Heinsohn Pat O'Brien and Lesley Visser Brent Musburger Kevin Loughery Brent Musburger
1983 CBS Dick Stockton Bill Russell Pat O'Brien Brent Musburger Kevin Loughery Brent Musburger
1982 CBS Dick Stockton Bill Russell Brent Musburger, Frank Glieber and Pat O'Brien Hubie Brown and Kevin Loughery Dick Stockton
1981 CBS Gary Bender Bill Russell and Rick Barry Rod Hundley Gary Bender
1980 CBS Brent Musburger Bill Russell and Rod Hundley Rick Barry Gary Bender Frank Glieber Brent Musburger

Notes

  • 1989: Pat O'Brien was the pre-game and halftime host for Game 2 because Brent Musburger was on assignment (Musburger was covering the College World Series for CBS). This was also in the case in 1988. This was Musburger's last NBA Finals assignment for CBS, as he was fired on April 1, 1990, months before NBA's television contract with CBS expired. Musburger moved to ABC and ESPN, and later called nine NBA Finals series for ESPN Radio between 1996 and 2004.
  • In 1988, CBS achieved its only 20+ rating for an individual NBA game when the network got a 21.2 rating for Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals between the Lakers and Detroit Pistons. The Pistons would be in the next two NBA Finals, including a sweep the next year, and the lowest ratings CBS had seen in six years the year after that, with a 12.3 in 1990.
  • 1987: James Brown was the sideline reporter for Games 3 and 4 (the latter being the Magic junior skyhook game) because Pat O'Brien attended the birth of son Sean Patrick. O'Brien called Games 1, 2, 5 and 6.
    • In 1987, the NBA Finals hit a then-record rating of 15.9. The 1990 NBA Finals was CBS' last, after nearly two decades televising the NBA. While the network broadcast every Bird-Magic Finals, it never broadcast any Final involving Michael Jordan, who, starting the year after CBS ended involvement with the league, would dominate the NBA in a way that neither Bird or Magic had. In 1990, the final year of the CBS deal, the regular season rating[12] stood at a 5.2. (Each rating point represents 931,000 households.)
  • Game 3 of the 1986 NBA Finals in Houston was played during the midst of an electrical storm that knocked the picture out for the approximately, the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. Although the video was already on the fritz towards the end of the third, CBS announcer Dick Stockton waited for nearly three minutes before adjusting to a radio play-by-play.
  • 1984: The 1984 championship series was the most watched in NBA history, with soaring TV ratings.
  • 1983: CBS joined Game 1 in progress with 7:37 left in the first period (meaning, there was no standard pregame coverage). Following the introduction montage (which was notable as it marked premiere of the intercutting, Bill Feigenbaum created CGI rendering of Boston Garden, used by CBS through the start of the 1989 Finals) with narration by anchor Brent Musburger, things were quickly passed off to play-by-play man Dick Stockton.
  • From 1979-1981, CBS aired weekday NBA Finals games on tape delay if they were not played on the West Coast. Games were televised after the late local news (11:30 p.m.) in the CBS Late Movie time slot. In some cases, games were seen live in the cities whose local NBA teams were playing. In 1981 for example, WNAC-TV Boston and KHOU-TV Houston carried Games 1, 2, 5 and 6 live, although most viewers around the country had to wait until after the late local news to see them.
    • 1980 NBA Finals: The series-deciding Game 6 became the most notorious example of CBS's practice of showing even the most important NBA games on "tape delay" broadcasts. Because May 16, 1980 was a Friday, the network did not want to preempt two of its highest-rated shows, The Dukes of Hazzard and Dallas, even though both shows were already in reruns: the 1979-80 TV season had ended early, back in March, in anticipation of a strike that summer by the Screen Actors Guild. So Game 6 was shown at 11:30pm Eastern (10:30pm Central) in all but four US cities: Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland and Seattle, who carried it live. The game was not broadcast at all in Atlanta. (This is often cited as an example of TV's lack of interest in the NBA in the "pre-Magic and Bird" era.)
      • On a side note, here, in Game 4 of the 1980 Finals, Julius Erving executed the legendary Baseline Move, an incredible, behind-the-board reverse layup that seemed to defy gravity. Play-by-play announcer Brent Musberger has noted that Erving made such moves almost routinely in his ABA days—but the ABA had no national TV contract in those days. This Game 4 move, played to a national audience in a title game, has probably become Julius Erving's most famous move.
    • 1981: The series between the Boston Celtics and the Houston Rockets was the lowest rated NBA Finals in history (6.7 rating over six games), until the 2003 NBA Finals drew only 6.5 percent of American television households. Four games of the 1981 series (Games 1, 2, 5 and the climatic Game 6) were telecast on tape delay.
      • As previously mentioned, before 2003, the 1981 NBA Finals received the lowest television rating in NBA history. The 1981 Finals drew a 6.7 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. Meanwhile, the 2003 Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and New Jersey Nets drew a 6.5 rating. Due to this, the 1981 Finals were the last to be broadcast on tape-delay, with weeknight games airing after the late local news in most cities. Games 3 and 4 were played back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10, to give CBS two live Finals games. Following the Finals, Gary Bender was relegated to tertiary play-by-play for the rest of his tenure in CBS, while Rick Barry's contract, following his questionable racial comments about Bill Russell during the Finals, was not renewed. Russell would remain the main color analyst for the next two years alongside newly promoted main play-by-play commentator Dick Stockton. Curiously, Barry and Russell would reunite, this time on the NBA on TBS during the mid-1980s. Russell was replaced as CBS' lead analyst following the 1983 Finals by former Celtics teammate Tom Heinsohn.

1970s

Year Network Play-by-play announcer Color analyst(s) Sideline reporter(s) Studio host Studio analyst(s) Trophy presentation
1979 CBS Brent Musburger Rick Barry and Rod Hundley Stu Lantz Brent Musburger
1978 CBS Brent Musburger Rick Barry (All Games), Steve Jones (Game 1), John Havlicek (Games 2,4 and 7), Gus Johnson (Game 3), and Keith Erickson (Games 4 and 5) Brent Musburger
1977 CBS Brent Musburger Rick Barry and Steve Jones
1976 CBS Brent Musburger Rick Barry and Mendy Rudolph Sonny Hill
1975 CBS Brent Musburger Oscar Robertson
1974 CBS Pat Summerall Rick Barry and Rod Hundley
1973 ABC Keith Jackson Bill Russell Chris Schenkel Howard Cosell Howard Cosell
1972 ABC Keith Jackson Bill Russell Chris Schenkel Howard Cosell Howard Cosell
1971 ABC Chris Schenkel Jack Twyman Jack Twyman
1970 ABC Chris Schenkel Jack Twyman Howard Cosell Howard Cosell

Notes

  • 1977: The post-game trophy presentation following Game 6 was never aired because CBS decided to air the Kemper Open following the game. Initially CBS wanted a 10:30 a.m. PT start to accommodate the golf tournament but the NBA refused, instead settling for the 12:00 p.m. PT start time.
  • 1976: There were three days of rest between Game 1 Sunday, May 23 and Game 2 Thursday, May 27, so that CBS would not have to count an NBA game in the Nielsen ratings for the May sweeps period. The 1976 May sweeps period ended Wednesday, May 26.
    • Game 3 tipped off at 10:30 a.m. MST to allow CBS to cover The Memorial golf tournament following the game. Church attendance that Sunday was sharply lower across Arizona, drawing an angry response from many clergy throughout the state.
    • CBS play-by-play announcer Brent Musburger, in a Fall 2009 interview with ESPN, said that he and color announcer Rick Barry were rooting for Phoenix to win Games 3, 4, and 6, although Barry's Golden State Warriors were eliminated by the Suns in the Western Conference Finals. Musburger said that this was because he and Barry were paid by the game. Since the Series was 2-0 Boston after the first two games, Musburger and Barry wanted the Suns to win the next two games to tie the series (likewise with Game 6). Boston fans, unaware of Musburger's and Barry's motivations, were upset with the announcing crew because of their apparent favoritism.
  • 1970: The first NBA Finals to be nationally televised in full.
    • ABC's coverage of Game 7 was blacked out on WABC-TV in the New York area. Play-by-play man Chris Schenkel made an announcement during the broadcast that the game would be rebroadcast in New York at 11:30 p.m. ET. The game was shown live on the MSG Network in New York City, which was then only available in about 25,000 cable households in Manhattan.
Surviving broadcasts
  • 1973: Knicks-Lakers - Games 1-4 is missing, but Game 5 was found and shown as a special on the MSG network in 2013.

1960s

Year Network Games Play-by-play announcer Color analyst(s)
1969 ABC 3, 5-7 Chris Schenkel Jack Twyman
Synd. 4 Bob Wolff Ed Macauley
1968 ABC 1, 4 Chris Schenkel Jack Twyman
1967 ABC 2, 5 Chris Schenkel Jack Twyman
1966 ABC 1, 5 Chris Schenkel Bob Cousy
Synd. 7 Bob Wolff Jack Twyman
1965 ABC 1, 5 Chris Schenkel Bob Cousy
1964 SNI 4 Marty Glickman Fred Schaus
1963 SNI 6 Bob Wolff
1962 NBC 1-2 Bob Wolff Bud Palmer
1961 NBC 1, 3-4 Lindsey Nelson Bud Palmer
1960 NBC 1, 3-4, 7 Lindsey Nelson Curt Gowdy

Notes

  • For the majority of the 1960s, ABC only televised Sunday afternoon games, including the playoffs. ABC did not have to televise the deciding game if it occurred on a weeknight.
  • 1962 - All of the games from Boston were televised in Los Angeles on Channel 9 (then called KHJ-TV) with Chick Hearn on play-by-play. For Game 7, Jack Drees joined the broadcast team. In addition, Chick Hearn indicated that Game 7 was being syndicated around the nation to a variety of cities. The game was broadcast in Boston by WHDH-TV, but the station originated its own broadcast with Don Gillis as the commentator.
Surviving broadcasts

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1950s

Year Network Games Play-by-play announcer Color analyst(s)
1959 NBC 1, 2 Lindsey Nelson Curt Gowdy
1958 NBC 1 Lindsey Nelson Curt Gowdy
1957 NBC 1, 7 Lindsey Nelson Curt Gowdy
1956 NBC 1 Lindsey Nelson Curt Gowdy
1955 NBC 2, 6 Marty Glickman Lindsey Nelson
1954 DuMont 2, 5 Marty Glickman Lindsey Nelson

Radio

National

2010s

Year Network Play-by-play announcer Color commentator(s) Sideline reporter(s) Studio host(s) Studio analyst(s)
2015 ESPN Mike Tirico Hubie Brown Marc Stein Marc Kestecher Jon Barry
2014[1] ESPN Kevin Calabro Hubie Brown Marc Stein Marc Kestecher Jon Barry
2013[3] ESPN Mike Tirico (Game 1-3, 5-7)
Kevin Calabro (Game 4)
Hubie Brown Marc Stein Marc Kestecher Will Perdue
2012[5] ESPN Jim Durham Hubie Brown and Jack Ramsay Ric Bucher Marc Kestecher Will Perdue
2011[6] ESPN Mike Tirico Hubie Brown and Jack Ramsay Ric Bucher Marc Kestecher Will Perdue
2010[7] ESPN Jim Durham Hubie Brown and Jack Ramsay Ric Bucher Marc Kestecher Will Perdue
     Expected announcer, subject to change.

2000s

Year Network Play-by-play announcer Color commentator(s) Sideline reporter(s) Studio host(s) Studio analyst(s)
2009 ESPN Mike Tirico Hubie Brown and Jack Ramsay Ric Bucher Marc Kestecher
2008 ESPN Mike Tirico Hubie Brown Ric Bucher Marc Kestecher Will Perdue
2007 ESPN Mike Tirico Hubie Brown Ric Bucher and Lisa Salters Marc Kestecher Will Perdue
2006 ESPN Jim Durham Jack Ramsay
2005 ESPN Jim Durham Jack Ramsay
2004 ESPN Brent Musburger Jack Ramsay
2003 ESPN Brent Musburger Jack Ramsay
2002 ESPN Brent Musburger Jack Ramsay
2001 ESPN Brent Musburger Jack Ramsay
2000 ESPN Brent Musburger Jack Ramsay Fred Carter and Quinn Buckner Jim Durham P.J. Carlesimo

1990s

Year Network Play-by-play Color commentator(s) Sideline reporter(s) Studio Host
1999 ESPN Brent Musburger Jack Ramsay
1998 ESPN Brent Musburger Jack Ramsay
1997 ESPN Brent Musburger[13] Jack Ramsay
1996 ESPN Brent Musburger[14] Jack Ramsay
1995 NBA Joe McConnell Wes Unseld Glenn Ordway Tom Hanneman
1994 NBA Joe McConnell Bob Lanier Tom Hanneman
1993 NBA Joe McConnell[15] Bob Lanier
1992 NBA Joe McConnell Dick Versace[16][17] Tom Hanneman
1991 NBA Joe McConnell Frank Layden
1990 ABC Fred Manfra[18] Dick Vitale[19][20] and Earl Monroe

1980s

Year Network Play-by-play announcer Color commentator(s)
1989 ABC[21] Fred Manfra Dick Vitale[22] and Earl Monroe[23]
1988 ABC Fred Manfra[24] Dick Vitale[24]
1987 ABC Fred Manfra[25] Dick Vitale[26]
1986 ABC Fred Manfra Oscar Robertson[27]
1985 ABC Fred Manfra Oscar Robertson
1984 Mutual Tony Roberts Oscar Robertson
1983 Mutual Tony Roberts Tom Heinsohn
1982 Mutual
1981 Mutual
1980 Mutual

1970s

Year Network Play-by-play announcer Color commentator(s)
1978 Mutual Tony Roberts Hubie Brown
1973 Mutual
1970 Mutual

Local

2010s

2000s

Year Teams Flagship station Play-by-play Color commentator(s)
2007 San Antonio-Cleveland WOAI-AM (San Antonio)
WTAM-AM (Cleveland) Joe Tait

1990s

1980s

1970s

Year Teams Flagship station Play-by-play Color commentator(s)
1978 Washington-Seattle WTOP-AM (Washington) Frank Herzog
KOMO-AM (Seattle) Bob Blackburn
1973 New York-Los Angeles WNBC–AM (New York) Marv Albert John Andariese
KFI (Los Angeles) Chick Hearn Lynn Shackelford
1970 New York-Los Angeles WHN (New York) Marv Albert (Games 1, 2, 5, and 7)
Bob Wolff (Games 3, 4, and 6)
KABC (Los Angeles) Chick Hearn Lynn Shackelford

1960s

1950s

1940s

References

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  12. THE MEDIA BUSINESS; NBC and N.B.A. Agree to $750 Million Pact
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External links

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