Format history
Each episode normally airs two hours in length (condensed down from the normal two-and-a-half-hour length of a live telecast), although there have been some episodes that were only thirty to sixty minutes long, due to lack of complete footage, or were preserved as newsreels for a majority of games played in the 1950s. And there are still some episodes which were aired in a full two-and-a-half hours of game time. Some recent games, however (e.g. 2008 NBA Finals) were shortened to only an hour despite the full two-hour availability of game footage; they did manage to air Game 4 of that series in full when it was shown as part of the Lakers vs. Celtics finals marathon in 2010. In addition, stock footage was also used and spliced to a previously aired game, as seen in the baseline camera angles substituting for the normal television game angles during Game 5 of the 1993 First Round between the New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers.
NBA's Greatest Games
The series, originally titled NBA's Greatest Games, debuted in 1999, alongside the formation of NBA TV (then NBA.com TV). The program was re-titled NBA TV: Hardwood Classics, presented by The History Channel , in March 2004 (retitled simply as NBA TV: Hardwood Classics when it moved to NBA TV in 2005). However, some episodes still run under the Greatest Games title, although recent re-airings of prior Greatest Games episodes were now retitled under the Hardwood Classics banner.
As Hardwood Classics
In this re-formatted version, the program features interviews and trivia tidbits pertaining to the game being presented. Hardwood Classics features footage used by the NBA's past and present broadcasting partners, such as ABC, CBS, ESPN, NBC, TBS, TNT, and USA Network, as well as locally produced broadcasts from the individual NBA franchises.
In 2009, Hardwood Classics also began to broadcast condensed 30-minute episodes of the NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest, beginning with the 1984 contest. These programs are shown only during the month of February, which coincides with the NBA All-Star Weekend.
Beginning in 2010, Hardwood Classics is hosted by Marc Fein, and later by either Matt Winer or Rick Kamla, who gives a preview of the selected game as well as facts that followed the game. Previously, Andre Aldridge hosted the program from 2004–05.
Hardwood Classics also lends its name to the Mitchell & Ness clothing line of authentic vintage NBA jerseys, as well as the annual throwback game series "Hardwood Classics Nights", featuring NBA teams in throwback uniforms.
During the 2011 NBA lockout, Hardwood Classics was aired on NBA TV on a daily basis, usually twice a day, primarily to fill in programming hours. This is because recent footage of active NBA players could not be aired per agreement by the league during the lockout, instead NBA TV focused on programming featuring NBA legends during this period, other than ongoing WNBA and NBA Development League games. More recent episodes focused more on an individual player or team accomplishments aside from games which feature signature plays and series/championship victories. Some games previously aired under the "Greatest Games" title were re-aired under the "Hardwood Classics" banner. Every Monday, Hardwood Classics was promoted as 'Old School Monday' and two games or more featuring a significant milestone or moment were aired. 'Old School Monday' airs only during the NBA off-season. Beginning in October, a variation of Hardwood Classics called 'Classic Quarters' is also aired, in which a thirty-minute episode was dedicated to a particular quarter of a classic NBA game.
During the 2020 NBA season break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NBA TV aired select classic games under the Hardwood Classics Popcast title. The format brought back in-game tidbits last seen under the Greatest Games name.
Even though NBA TV now airs in high definition, Hardwood Classics continue to be shown in standard definition, one of only a few programs on NBA TV to do so. This applies only, however, to games shown before the availability of high definition (e.g. games prior to 2007). In recent years, Hardwood Classics is shown in full high definition, with black pillarboxes filling in for games originally aired in the 4:3 standard definition ratio.
Notable episodes
The episodes that have been broadcast on this series have been mostly playoffs and Finals games, but it also features significant games with great personal accomplishments, such as:
- Kobe Bryant's 81-point game vs. the Toronto Raptors in January 2006.
- Michael Jordan's 63-point game vs. the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA Playoffs.
- Michael Jordan's 55-point game vs. the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995, in one of his first games upon returning from his first retirement.
- Kevin Garnett's NBA debut versus the Sacramento Kings at Sacramento in November 1995.
- The playoff duel between Hall of Famers Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks and Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics in a 1988 playoff game in Boston Garden.
- Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers making his NBA debut against the then-Washington Bullets at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.
- Julius Erving's final NBA All-Star Game appearance in 1987 at Seattle's Kingdome.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's final All-Star Game appearance in 1989 at the Houston Astrodome.
- At Denver's now-demolished McNichols Sports Arena, the Denver Nuggets hosted the Detroit Pistons on December 13, 1983 in what still is the NBA's highest scoring game ever, with Detroit winning 186–184 in triple-overtime. This game also set the record for the most players in a single game to score 40 or more points, as Piston players Isiah Thomas and John Long scored 47 and 41 points respectively, while Denver's Kiki Vandeweghe led all scorers with 51 points and teammate Alex English scored 47.
- At Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey on December 7, 2006, the Phoenix Suns and New Jersey Nets played in the fourth-highest scoring game in NBA history, with the Suns winning in a 161–157 final score in double-overtime.
- Shaquille O'Neal's NBA debut versus the Miami Heat at Orlando on November 6, 1992.
- Considered by many as the greatest basketball game ever, the upstart Suns took the Celtics to triple-overtime, with the Celtics winning Game 5 of their NBA Finals series, 128–126, on June 4, 1976 at Boston Garden.
- The Toronto Raptors in their first year in the NBA upset the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, who went on to have a record-breaking 72-win season.
As sort of a special treat for fans, NBA TV normally broadcasts a Hardwood Classics/Greatest Games episode that features a significant game between two franchises that happen to play each other in a game taking place on that same night.
On or around Christmas, NBA TV shows marathons of classic Christmas Day games. These games are from as far back as 1970 and often feature the New York Knicks (with 45 appearances, by far the most of any NBA franchise, including 27 straight years from 1961–88), while other teams are featured as well. One example of this was the Christmas Day 1985 matchup between the Knicks and the eventual champion Boston Celtics where the Knicks trailed 58-33 in the third period, yet came back to force overtime, eventually winning 114-103 in two overtimes. Another notable Knicks Christmas Day game took place a year earlier, featuring them and cross-river rival New Jersey Nets at Madison Square Garden, in which Knicks forward Bernard King scored 60 points in a 120-114 New York loss.
The earliest Christmas Day telecast in the NBA TV archives is a 1970 ABC telecast, between the Hawks and Suns from the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, with the Suns winning 127-115.
There have been several Hardwood Classics episodes that were re-edited and remastered. For instance, Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals, first aired in early 2007, was re-aired three years later with a shortened version of the Miami Heat's championship awarding ceremonies. As mentioned, Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals, originally an hour long when it first aired in late 2008, was broadcast in a full two hours when it was re-aired in 2010. In contrast, Larry Bird's 49-point performance against the Portland Trail Blazers in 1992 was originally aired as a two-hour episode in 1999, but was shortened to an hour when it was re-aired in 2004, only covering the latter stages of the fourth quarter and two overtimes.
Some Hardwood Classics games were aired with one portion of the broadcast handled by a local network, and another portion handled by either a national (or another local, preferably the opposing team's) network, handling play-by-play for the duration of a game, often due to audio problems or lack of footage. For example, a majority of Game 5 of the 1984 First Round between the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons used the MSG Network broadcast tandem of Marv Albert and Butch Beard, with the remainder handled by the Pistons' WDFN radio broadcast of George Blaha and Dave Bing. Another example was the rebroadcast of Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals between the Pistons and the Celtics, using both the TBS broadcast by Bob Neal and Doug Collins, and the SportsChannel New England broadcast by Mike Gorman and Tom Heinsohn.
The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of the league's original eight teams, the Celtics play their home games at TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins. The Celtics are one of the most successful basketball teams in NBA history. The franchise is one of two teams with 17 NBA Championships, the other franchise being the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics currently hold the record for the most recorded wins of any NBA team.
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the original Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1977, though under the same name.
Kevin Edward McHale is an American former professional basketball player, coach and analyst who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and is regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time.
The NBA on NBC is the branding used for presentations of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by the NBC television network in the United States. NBC held broadcast rights from 1955 to 1962 and again from 1990 to 2002. During NBC's partnership with the NBA in the 1990s, the league rose to unprecedented popularity, with ratings surpassing the days of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the mid-1980s. Although the main NBC network no longer airs NBA broadcasts, NBA games currently air on the NBC Sports Regional Networks in the form of game telecasts that air on a regional basis, featuring local NBA teams that each of the regional networks have respective broadcast rights to air in their designated market.
The NBA on ABC is an American presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by ESPN, and televised on ABC. The NBA on ABC name is rarely used, using NBA on ESPN branding and graphics to be integrated with its cable sister network.
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The NBA on CBS is the branding that is used for weekly broadcasts of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States. CBS aired NBA games from the 1973–74 NBA season until the 1989–90 NBA season.
NBA on TNT is a branding used for broadcasts of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games, produced by Turner Sports, the sports division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Sports subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and televised on TNT since 1989. TNT's NBA coverage includes the Inside the NBA studio show, weekly doubleheaders throughout the regular season on Tuesdays and Thursdays, a majority of games during the first two rounds of the playoffs, and one conference finals series.
The 2008 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2007–08 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeated the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers, 4–2, winning their first title since 1986 during the Larry Bird era and 17th overall. This series was held from June 5 through June 17, 2008.
The 1984 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1983–84 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Larry Bird was named NBA Finals MVP.
The NBA on ESPN is the branding used for the presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games on the ESPN family of networks. The ESPN cable network first televised NBA games from 1982 until 1984, and has been airing games currently since the 2002–03 NBA season. ESPN2 began airing a limited schedule of NBA games in 2002. ESPN on ABC began televising NBA games in 2006. On October 6, 2014, ESPN and the NBA renewed their agreement through 2025.
Basketball TV or BTV was a Philippine pay television television sports channel with offices in Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong. It was owned by the Solar Entertainment Corporation. It was launched on October 1, 2006, rebranding the Sports Plus channel. On September 25, 2019, it announced on its official Facebook page as well as on its Instagram and Twitter accounts that the channel and NBA Premium TV will cease their operations on October 1, 2019. The final program to air on this channel was a replay of NBA Playoff Playback on 30 September 2019 before signing off at 12:00 m.n. on 1 October 2019.
The 1992 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament following the National Basketball Association's 1991-92 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls defeating the Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP for the second straight year.
The 2009 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. Kobe Bryant was named NBA Finals MVP.
Games held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Christmas Day, December 25, have been an annual tradition since the league's second season in 1947. Currently, five games are played on Christmas. Unlike the National Football League (NFL)'s traditional Thanksgiving Day games, the NBA's Christmas Day games have no fixed opponents; rather, they feature some of the best teams and players. Very often a rematch of the previous season's NBA Finals is showcased on Christmas Day.
The 2019 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2018–19 season. The playoffs began on April 13 and ended on June 13 at the conclusion of the 2019 NBA Finals.
As the national broadcaster of the NBA, CBS aired NBA games from the 1973-74 until the 1989–90 season, during which the early 1980s is notoriously known as the tape delay playoff era.
When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, all major professional and collegiate organizations responded by suspending operations indefinitely. This effect was passed down to the world of sports broadcasting, which includes live coverage of thousands of events on an annual basis through stations and network available over the air, through cable, satellite, and IPTV companies, and via streaming and over-the-top services.
