Marv Albert is an American former sportscaster. Honored for his work by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks". Albert worked for Turner Sports as the lead announcer for NBA games on TNT.
Michael Breen is an American play-by-play sports commentator. He has been the lead announcer for NBA games on ABC and ESPN since 2006, including the NBA Finals. He is also the lead announcer for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network. Breen previously called NFL regular season games for both NFL on Fox and NFL on NBC, as well as New York Giants preseason games.
Michael Robert Fratello, also known as "the Czar", is an American sports broadcaster and a professional basketball coach. Fratello is currently an part-time analyst for Bally Sports Ohio for the Cleveland Cavaliers and a part-time color commentator for Bally Sports SoCal for the Los Angeles Clippers. He previously coached the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA), served as NBC's lead analyst, served as YES Network's color commentator/studio analyst for the Brooklyn Nets, a commentator/studio analyst for NBA TV and for nationally televised games on TNT and was also the head coach of the Ukraine national basketball team.
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 1954 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.
Nationally television broadcasts of National Basketball Association (NBA) games first aired on ABC from 1965 to 1973. In 2002, NBA games returned to ABC as part of a contract signed with the league, along with cable sister network ESPN. After the ABC Sports division was merged into ESPN Inc. by parent company Disney in 2006, broadcasts have since been produced by ESPN, and have primarily used the NBA on ESPN branding and graphics instead of the NBA on ABC branding.
Scott Christopher Williams is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at 6' 10", he was capable of playing as a power forward or a center. Early in his professional career, Williams earned three NBA Finals rings as he contributed off the bench during the Chicago Bulls' first three-peat championships from 1991–1993. He developed into a front-court reserve during his fifteen seasons in the NBA, where he was known for his hustle and strong defense. Since his retirement, Williams has coached in the NBA Development League and NBA as well as commentating for a variety of NBA teams. Williams is currently the color analyst for the Grand Canyon Antelopes men's basketball team.
Bally Sports Ohio is an American regional sports network owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and is operated as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events in the state of Ohio, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Cleveland and Cincinnati, which are broadcast on separate programming feeds, as well as Columbus.
Ian Eagle is an American sports announcer. He calls NBA, NFL, and college basketball games on CBS, TNT, and TBS, as well as Brooklyn Nets games on the YES Network and French Open tennis for Tennis Channel. Other announcing experiences include Army–Navy football games, boxing, and NCAA track and field for CBS.
NBA on TNT is an American presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) games, produced by TNT Sports. In the United States, the TNT cable network has held the rights to broadcast NBA games since 1989, and its telecasts have been streamed on its Max platform since 2023. 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 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 NBA season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks were favored to win the championship over the Miami Heat. Despite these odds, the Heat won the title in six games over the Mavericks, becoming the third team—after the 1969 Celtics, the 1977 Trail Blazers and later the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2021 Milwaukee Bucks—to win a championship after trailing 0–2 in the series. Dwyane Wade of the Heat was named Most Valuable Player of the series.
Jorge Sedano is an American sports broadcaster and talk show host. He began his career in 1999 and is currently a radio and television personality at ESPN.
Tom McCarthy is an American sports broadcaster. He is the play-by-play announcer for Philadelphia Phillies television broadcasts and also calls National Football League games for Westwood One. He calls select NFL, NBA and college basketball games on CBS beginning in 2014. McCarthy previously served as the play-by-play voice of Saint Joseph's University men's and women's basketball teams.
Bally Sports Florida is an American regional sports network owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts local sports coverage in the state of Florida, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Miami, Tampa and Orlando.
Eric Reid is an American television play-by-play announcer for the Miami Heat and college football on Sun Sports.
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. Since 2008, five games have been 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.
The 2010–11 Miami Heat season was the 23rd season of the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the regular season, the Heat finished first in the Southeast Division with 58–24 record, and made the NBA playoffs for the 3rd consecutive year as the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed.
The 2004–05 NBA season was the Grizzlies' tenth season in the National Basketball Association, and their fourth season in Memphis, Tennessee. Coming off their first playoff appearance in franchise history, the Grizzlies had a new look and moved into their new arena, the FedExForum. However, the team struggled with a 5–7 start as 71-year-old Hubie Brown retired from coaching due to "unexpected health problems". The Grizzlies would lose their next four games under Lionel Hollins before replacing him with TNT analyst Mike Fratello. Under Fratello, the Grizzlies would win 12 of their 15 games in January climbing back into playoff contention. Despite losing five of their last six games, the Grizzlies finished fourth in the Southwest Division with a 45–37 record, making their second consecutive trip to the playoffs.
Tony Fiorentino is an American television color commentator, most recently for the Miami Heat. Fiorentino has been involved with the Heat organization since it entered the NBA, joining the team in 1988 as an assistant coach under Ron Rothstein. He also served as an assistant coach for the Heat under Alvin Gentry and Pat Riley, and later served as an assistant coach with the Heat's WNBA sister team, the Miami Sol. He became the Heat's main television color commentator in 2004, replacing Mike Fratello. On June 9, 2017, The Miami Heat announced that Fiorentino would call his 15th and final season as the team's television analyst. On April 11, 2018, Fiorentino was honored in a halftime ceremony during the final regular season game against the Toronto Raptors. Fiorentino remains with the team, serving as both a Miami Heat Ambassador and as the Director for the franchise's very popular summer basketball camp program.
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.
Upon expiration of the contract in 2002, the league signed an agreement with ABC, which began airing games in the 2002-03 season. NBC had made a four-year $1.3 billion bid in the spring of 2002 to renew its NBA rights, but the league instead went to ESPN and ABC with a six-year deal worth $2.4 billion, a total of $4.6 billion when adding the cable deal with Turner Sports.
