With the Olympic Games Paris 2024 quickly approaching, there is anticipation surrounding the performance of Team USA across multiple categories. Athletes from around the country are slated to travel to Paris and take part in various athletic competitions, one of which is basketball. NBCUniversal, which holds the media rights to the Olympic Games through 2032, has announced that Dwyane Wade and LaChina Robinson will join play-by-play announcer Noah Eagle on the broadcasts for Team USA Men’s and Women’s Basketball games, respectively.
Wade is a three-time NBA champion who played most of his 16-year career as a member of the Miami Heat. Shortly after his retirement, the Heat retired his No. 3 at Kaseya Center, and he was also honored with a spot on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. Wade was also a member of the 2023 induction class for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, further cementing his place as one of the most accomplished and talented players in basketball history. Outside of his playing accolades, Wade appeared on TNT as an NBA analyst for parts of four years beginning in 2019 and is now scheduled to make his NBC Olympics debut in Paris.
“I’m thrilled to join NBC Sports as a commentator for Team USA Men’s Basketball games,” Wade said in a statement. “The Olympics are the world’s greatest sporting competition with elite athletes competing at the highest level on the world’s largest stage. I have tremendous pride when I look back at my time competing as an Olympic athlete. I have the utmost respect for these players and their commitment to greatness. It will be an honor to witness their journey in person and share this special experience with viewers while we unite to celebrate their pursuit of the gold.”
Robinson is returning to NBC for her third Olympics assignment after she had worked for its digital platform for the competition in Tokyo and Beijing. During her four-year career at Wake Forest University, she attained several accolades related to shot blocking and rebounding. Robinson has worked at ESPN as a basketball analyst for its WNBA and NCAA women’s basketball coverage since 2009.
“It’s surreal to think that I will be sitting in the analyst seat as our women’s national team competes for their unprecedented eighth consecutive gold medal,” Robinson said in a statement. “I am humbled by this opportunity to represent the rich history of women’s basketball on this monumental stage. Thank you to NBC Sports and all the remarkable women who have sat in this seat before me.”
Bob Fitzgerald, play-by-play announcer for the Golden State Warriors on NBC Sports Bay Area and former KNBR host, is returning to work his sixth Olympic Games for NBCUniversal. He will be serving as a play-by-play announcer for Olympic basketball for the company. Moreover, Kerith Burke and Zora Stephenson will serve as sideline reporters for the competition, handling the first and second weeks respectively. Burke is Fitzgerald’s colleague on NBC Sports Bay Area and working her third Olympics with NBC Sports, while Stephenson is set to embark on her second Olympics assignment with the company.
“With this summer’s basketball tournaments expected to have the deepest pool of talented players and most competitive fields in any Olympics, we are thrilled that Dwyane and LaChina, each with more than a decade of experience at the sport’s highest level, will be alongside Noah to call the action,” Rebecca Chatman, vice president and coordinating producer of NBC Olympic production, said in a statement. “On the sidelines, we are excited to have Kerith and Zora, who have been courtside reporters for NBA champions.”
NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, is reportedly expected to land media rights to the National Basketball Association beginning in the 2025-26 season. The package of games, which would be worth between $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion annually, could reportedly include two weekly prime time windows, a conference semifinals and a conference final. Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal reported last week that the league was formalizing written contracts with NBCUniversal, along with The Walt Disney Company and Amazon, ahead of the expiration of its existing media rights deal after next season.
