The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks are currently competing in a seven-game series to determine who will hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy as NBA champions. No matter who wins the 2024 NBA Finals, either franchise would be capturing its first championship in more than a decade and overcoming levels of adversity faced in recent years. Stars on both teams such as Jayson Tatum, Luka Dončić, Jaylen Brown and Kyrie Irving have been at the center of discussion, but there has also been additional coverage surrounding key contributors, coaching decisions and more.
ESPN is presenting coverage of the NBA Finals across a variety of platforms under its existing media rights agreement with the NBA with experienced broadcasters delivering information and analysis in real time. ESPN Radio, the national audio network for the company, has been broadcasting NBA Finals games for the last 28 years and is continuing that tradition to conclude the basketball season.
Play-by-play announcer Marc Kestecher, analyst P.J. Carlesimo and reporter Jorge Sedano are on the call for the best-of-seven series, which continues on Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. EST. Preparing for a series that oftentimes has sudden twists and turns off which to react, some of which can alter play entirely, requires an indefatigable work ethic and steadfast commitment to the daily grind. The trio has called games throughout the NBA Playoffs, including select matchups during the first two rounds and the entire Eastern Conference Finals. Nonetheless, calling games in the NBA Finals is very much an assignment they do not take for granted.
“[Calling the NBA Finals] is always an honor,” Kestecher said. “It’s the highlight of my year, and we root for close games and great finishes, and we got a few of those, this crew, in the Eastern Conference Finals, so I hope that we get some more of those here in the next couple of [weeks].”
“It’s the best basketball of the year, it’s the highlight of the basketball season,” Carlesimo added. “I’ve done Olympic gold medal games, I’ve done NCAA championships, and there’s nothing like an NBA [Finals].”
Kestecher and Carlesimo have called the NBA Finals together since the 2020 season and encompass the lead broadcast team for ESPN Radio’s coverage of the league during the regular season. Sedano, however, is taking part in his first NBA Finals assignment this year and vividly recollects when Pete Ciccone, ESPN Radio program director of network play-by-play, called to inform him that he had been selected. Throughout the year, Sedano works as a reporter across the NBA on ESPN property, contributing to both radio and television broadcasts while also hosting Sedano and Kap in afternoon drive on ESPN LA 710.
“To get this opportunity for me, it’s just incredible,” Sedano said. “Again, an honor, a pleasure, and I get to work with two of my favorite people in Marc Kestecher and P.J. Carlesimo, two guys who have been so incredible and so kind with me over the years that it’s, again, a dream come true for a guy like me for sure.”
During the NBA Finals, Sedano is situated courtside and makes observations throughout the game, some of which he communicates to live event producer Jon Madani by means of a talkback system. Additionally, he provides reports that do not interfere with the action to grant the listening audience insight into the discussions and real-time adjustments being enacted.
“He’s not going to want to regurgitate pablum – he is going to want to convey to the listener something that they don’t know,” Ciccone said. “He understands the importance of that – he understands the responsibility he has in being the guy to secure that information for the listening audience, and again, he just knows the sport inside and out.”
Kestecher is calling the NBA Finals on ESPN Radio for the eighth time in his career, through which he has experienced a deluge of contests that are determined by the final possessions. Despite the heightened levels of urgency and intensity, Kestecher tries not to get ahead of himself over the course of the game and stays grounded in the moment while accurately depicting the game and its accompanying setting.
“I try not to realize it’s the Finals,” Kestecher said. “You’re always in tune with what game it is – what’s at stake has always been a big thing in our career to make sure you’re pointing that out time and again, and then leaning on P.J. and his wealth of experience, and Jorge has been around for so long, and I’ve got Jon Madani in my ear as well, an extra set of eyes with all the experience he has.”
Carlesimo has comprehensive basketball knowledge and experience that he is able to apply on the broadcast. Calling games on radio rather than television though, Kestecher needs time to call the action and ensure that the listener remains aware of the situation. The arrangement can ostensibly be viewed as a challenge for some analysts, but it is a venture towards which Carlesimo exhibits avidity and takes a conscientious approach.
“That’s the fun of radio,” Carlesimo said. “I always said, ‘If I ever owned a network or was a network chief, I’d make all the TV analysts do radio’ because it teaches you to be silent and get in and get out.”
Those involved with the broadcast need to make decisions in order to safeguard against falling behind on the action, which oftentimes moves at an expeditious pace in these intense matchups. Part of this responsibility falls on Madani, who informs Carlesimo if he needs to stop explaining something or Sedano if they need to omit a report. Everyone within the broadcast evaluates the aggregate performance and tries to make improvements to benefit the consumer. At the same time though, there are added logistical facets within the environment of the NBA Finals that indicate the exigency of these contests.
“The demands from everybody – it’s not just us showing up and calling a game,” Madani explained. “You’ve got all of our ancillary resources. We’ve got talk shows from our network; we’ve got talk shows from other networks who all want to get the perspective of these three intelligent individuals who are going to have the benefit of calling what’s potentially history. Sports has always been the best reality TV – that’s never going to change – so you never know what you’re going to see.”
The ESPN Radio broadcast team consists of professionals with vast experience calling momentous games, and they aspire to accurately portray the action to the listening audience. Whether the series ends in a four-game sweep or results in a pivotal Game 7, they will be there to document the action with comprehensive analysis and reporting pertaining to the competition. Despite their busy schedules and time on the road, the personnel within the NBA Finals broadcast on ESPN Radio remain energized and focused on granting fans a means to connect with the players, coaches and organizations vying to garner an enduring achievement of prestige and excellence.
“Again, we’d like to think that we treat every broadcast as a big game, even a Sunday afternoon in February,” Ciccone said. “‘Why are we here on the network? Because it’s a big deal. This game between these two teams, the star players, it’s a big deal.’ It’s the same approach, and just like the players, they’re coached to stay true to their same approach, that’s what we’re doing on the broadcast side.”
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.
