Now that the calendar has turned to 2025, we are just 7 months away from the start of the NBA’s new media rights deal, which means new rights holders NBC and Amazon Prime Video are looking to fill out their teams for game broadcasts and studio coverage.
NBC figures to have some of their team already on staff, particularly in the hosting and play-by-play realm, with the likes of Mike Tirico, Noah Eagle, and Maria Taylor all potentially playing a role in their NBA plans — and Jamal Crawford signed on to do game analyst work. Amazon, however, has to build everything from scratch and are already filling out an impressive roster of talent themselves. Ian Eagle will be their lead play-by-play man, while Taylor Rooks has reportedly signed on as the host of their studio coverage.
Joining Rooks on the Amazon studio desk will be two recent stars, with Dirk Nowitzki and Blake Griffin reportedly signing deals with the streaming giant, per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Nowitzki was previously reported to be in agreement on a deal with Amazon, and he’s shown he has solid TV chops in guest appearances on TNT’s Inside the NBA in the past. Griffin is, I think, a huge get for Amazon as he’s the recent former player I think could be the closest thing to Charles Barkley on TV in terms of just being authentically funny and not afraid of making a joke about anyone, including himself — Draymond Green, to be clear, is way more Shaq than Chuck when it comes to his persona on TV.
There are still plenty of spots still to fill out for both NBC and Amazon on their broadcast lineups. The Prime Video studio desk likely still needs at least one more analyst (a host and three analysts has become the standard thanks to Inside, with Amazon’s NFL desk having four analysts), while NBC still needs to fill out its studio team and both have a long way to go in adding game analysts and more play-by-play men and women. Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony are both names that have popped up as big-name options for both networks, and then there are also those currently at TNT who could end up in a new home as well. I also wouldn’t be surprised if ESPN looks to get in on the hiring spree to refresh their game coverage for next season as well.
