ABC and The Walt Disney Company will present the NBA Finals for the 21st consecutive season beginning on Thursday, June 1 at 8:30 p.m. EST. After a thrilling Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night, the matchup has been established as the Miami Heat taking on the Denver Nuggets. This year’s presentation of the NBA Finals will be the first time all weeknight games will begin at 8:30 p.m. EST, and games on Sundays will commence at 8 p.m. EST. The broadcast team of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson will be at the helm bringing fans all the action.
Breen will be calling his 18th NBA Finals, which is the most ever for a play-by-play commentator, and should the series reach a fifth game, will reach 100 NBA Finals games called for his career. Van Gundy and Jackson have been on the call for 17 and 15 years, respectively, and have had the chance to witness history in the making. They know none of it would be possible without the team ESPN has amassed, but are surprised it has lasted this long because of their experience coaching.
Over the years, both Van Gundy and Jackson have reportedly considered and/or interviewed for a variety of head coaching jobs, and each believe the other should be afforded another chance on the sidelines.
Van Gundy most recently served as head coach of the Houston Rockets and Yao Ming, but was relieved of his duties after a Game 7 loss in 2007. Jackson, who played under Van Gundy on the New York Knicks, guided Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors to establish a culture and foundation built on winning championships. He was let go the season before the team captured a championship under head coach Steve Kerr in 2015.
“To be able to do it with friends makes it very rewarding,” Van Gundy said of calling the NBA Finals. “With all the upheaval that we have at times in TV [and] management, to work with Tim [Corrigan] and Mike, Mark and Lisa [Salters] really makes it like it’s home.”
Both Van Gundy and Jackson are honored to share the broadcast desk with Breen, who has had his fair share of memorable moments throughout his commentary career. He was recently recognized as the winner of the Sports Emmy award for “Outstanding Personality/Play-by-Play” for the second consecutive year, maintaining duties calling NBA games nationally for ESPN/ABC and locally on MSG Networks.
“Time and time again, to hit the right note and hit the right key at the right time is like watching Michael Jordan or [having] Magic Johnson or Nikola Jokić sitting alongside us,” Jackson said. “It’s something that I don’t take for granted.”
The NBA Finals matchup between the Heat and Nuggets presents an interesting quandary towards sports media pundits since both teams were featured one time throughout the regular season on NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC. When asked if the league has a responsibility to promulgate teams in smaller markets en masse, Van Gundy and Jackson both concurred that it is simply not the case.
“They’re going to do what they think is in their best interest to capture the audience,” Van Gundy said of the NBA. “I don’t think it’s on ESPN/ABC or the league; I think their job is different than it is for the teams. The teams are trying to become as good as they can to win championships, and the broadcast team angle is to try and find games and matchups that attract the most customers and consumers.”
Van Gundy pointed back to how the Warriors were hardly featured in the national spotlight prior to the rise of Curry, and now are a frequent part of the schedule and secure multiple showcase matchups. Next season, he expects the San Antonio Spurs to be featured often because of the organization’s expected selection of international sensation Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.
“Players, teams and organizations benefit from the money made and the money spent,” Van Gundy stated. “You can’t take the money and complain about the coverage too.”
As he has expressed in the past, Van Gundy reiterated his belief in condensing NBA games into a two-hour window in order to be more conducive to viewership. He would also consider eliminating free throws until the final four minutes of the game, instead automatically rewarding players for points they would have received on an attempted basket.
Van Gundy also made mention of the length of replay reviews, some of which turn out to be meaningless, and would therefore eliminate them unless it is on pivotal shots at the end of quarters or differences between two-point and three-point baskets. Most notably though, he hopes the league cuts halftime to five minutes, conveying how personnel referring to making “halftime adjustments” is trite and not necessary for the future of the game.
“I do agree with cutting halftime shorter and I believe [that] the replays can be a lot shorter and quicker with decisions made upon reviews,” Jackson replied. “Those two things [in] shortening the game would be two things that I would definitely cosign.”
As the start of the NBA Finals draws closer, media professionals will keep a close eye on the ratings across television and streaming platforms. ESPN reported its most-watched playoffs on its platforms over the last 11 years, averaging approximately 5.8 million viewers through the conclusion of the Western Conference Finals. Last year’s NBA Finals featured the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics, two of the most fiscally valuable and popular teams in the league, and resulted in a 22% increase in viewership from the year prior. This year, the Nuggets and Heat represent a deviation from the norm in that both teams originate from media markets outside of Nielsen Media Research’s top 10 in terms of total size. While devoted basketball fans will surely be intrigued by the superstar matchup of Nikola Jokić against Jimmy Butler, neither analyst is sure it will end up breaking viewership records.
“I hope it’s a resounding success and a celebration of two teams who did a tremendous job navigating their playoff runs,” Van Gundy said. “Even if it’s not the most highly-rated Finals – and I don’t know if it will be or won’t be – but even if it’s not, I think it still speaks well about the league.”
“There’s tremendous stories throughout this Finals, and I echo what Jeff talked about,” Jackson added. “Just give it a chance, and you will be absolutely floored at the product that’s on the floor.”
Each broadcast of the NBA Finals on ABC will be preceded by NBA Countdown featuring Mike Greenberg, Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon, Jalen Rose and Adrian Wojnarowski. Moreover, Thursday’s Game 1 will be accompanied by the NBA in Stephen A’s World alternate presentation featuring Smith and a guest list to be announced on game day.
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on X @derekfutterman.
