TMC
06-06-2025, 07:16 PM
https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/nba-finals-auraless-presentation.html
"This is the third year in a row that ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/search/?q=ESPN&cId=fd070220-6222-4e40-9048-daed9ca0a202&iId=7091cd22-7d73-455b-acc7-0a44d6006d20)/ABC (https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/search/?q=ABC&cId=a40db999-bd9a-4a0f-ac45-71d21361fc53&iId=f198dec3-410d-4b28-901b-0ec712f3f284)’s presentation has made the Finals feel like a Tuesday game in January."
https://cdn1.thecomeback.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/94/2025/06/2025nbafinalsespn-832x447.png
By Matt Yoder on 06/05/2025
It’s another year of ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/r/ESPN/search/?q=NBA&cId=53a7c36d-9771-47bc-b529-d3a247b9cdd4&iId=b4e1882b-5690-4f5f-9157-6e4649e94eff) broadcasting the NBA Finals, and another year of disappointment for NBA fans.
There have been certain bones that basketball fans have had to pick with ESPN over the 20 years plus that they have been broadcasting the NBA Finals. Most of those have dealt with the revolving door studio show over the years and a deluge of ads.
But this year, everything feels off. And the entire presentation of the NBA Finals makes it feel like a Friday night in January.
Let’s start with the broadcast booth that we all know has been thrown together on the fly thanks to the layoffs of Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson have never truly replaced. Mike Breen, Doris Burke, and Richard Jefferson are all great on their own merit, but they are admittedly a brand new team still trying to figure it out (https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/richard-jefferson-comparing-espn-booth-jeff-van-gundy-mark-jackson.html). And the fact that it leaked that ESPN is considering replacing Burke for next season before the series even began tells you all you need to know about how much of a disconnect exists.
The studio and halftime show is the same thing it’s always been (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/nba-finals-halftime-show-embarrassing.html). Game 1 of the Thunder-Pacers series greatly expanded what the set was able to do last year by giving the studio crew a whopping three minutes. However, most of that was filled with Stephen A. Smith yelling about Tyrese Haliburton. Don’t worry though, there was still tons and tons of commercials.
But most troubling of all is the total lack of aesthetics and big-game feel. Gone is the Larry O’Brien trophy on the court. Gone is the national anthem. Gone is the starting intros. Gone is pretty much anything and everything that would make you believe this is the NBA FINALS save for a small miniature logo at the bottom of the screen.
If the NBA is wondering why fans aren’t excited about the Thunder-Pacers matchup, it’s not the size of the markets involved. Look no further than what the league and its leading broadcast partner are communicating about the importance of the series.
The most perplexing issue here is these are all simple fixes that have been done before. It’s not like we are asking ESPN to figure out how to broadcast the game from Mars or find a way to do a 7D telecast.
Show the anthem and the player intros. Allow us to be sucked into the incredible arena atmosphere in Oklahoma City. Put the Larry O’Brien trophy on the court instead of a bunch of CGI and YouTubeTV ads. Are basketball fans here to watch the NBA Finals or is it just an opportunity to hype the upcoming Fantastic 4 movie? Give your personalities some actual time to talk about the game.
Even the NBA Cup easily communicates that their regular season games are different with their crazy court designs. And yet for the NBA Finals we can’t have anything? Make it make sense!
ESPN’s NBA coverage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_on_ESPN) during the season, especially in their studio shows, has left a lot to be desired in recent years. The network has a tendency to focus more on off-court drama and storylines than actual basketball (https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/sports-media-no-idea-talk-about-stephen-smith-espn.html). The Pacers (https://www.reddit.com/r/pacers/search/?q=ESPN&cId=7ee7c561-ee6a-48b1-a7da-6eabf8e3c5ee&iId=7df71ea4-2082-435a-ae34-2b69e3d2040b) probably got less time on ESPN airwaves than Stephen A. Smith’s feud with LeBron James (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/nobody-looks-good-lebron-james-stephen-a-smith-feud.html) this year. And the Thunder (https://www.reddit.com/r/Thunder/search/?q=ESPN&cId=128caa8c-2653-4395-9d5e-a7f69ecfd303&iId=5407090d-3151-431c-bf89-2e0cf74b1c9c) didn’t get much more than that in spite of building what may be the NBA’s next great dynasty.
But if ESPN is also struggling to make the NBA Finals feel like they matter during the NBA Finals itself, then we have even bigger problems.
Will Thunder-Pacers draw an audience for ABC? (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/06/thunder-pacers-nba-finals-ratings-preview/)
Haliburton heroics not enough to save NBA Finals from Game 1 low (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/06/nba-finals-ratings-pacers-thunder-game-1/)
What does the NBA think about its television ratings? (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/06/nba-finals-ratings-adam-silver/)
ESPN’s Burke “not guaranteed” to return to lead NBA team (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/06/espn-doris-burke-not-guaranteed-return-lead-nba-team-tim-legler/)
"This is the third year in a row that ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/search/?q=ESPN&cId=fd070220-6222-4e40-9048-daed9ca0a202&iId=7091cd22-7d73-455b-acc7-0a44d6006d20)/ABC (https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/search/?q=ABC&cId=a40db999-bd9a-4a0f-ac45-71d21361fc53&iId=f198dec3-410d-4b28-901b-0ec712f3f284)’s presentation has made the Finals feel like a Tuesday game in January."
https://cdn1.thecomeback.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/94/2025/06/2025nbafinalsespn-832x447.png
By Matt Yoder on 06/05/2025
It’s another year of ESPN (https://www.reddit.com/r/ESPN/search/?q=NBA&cId=53a7c36d-9771-47bc-b529-d3a247b9cdd4&iId=b4e1882b-5690-4f5f-9157-6e4649e94eff) broadcasting the NBA Finals, and another year of disappointment for NBA fans.
There have been certain bones that basketball fans have had to pick with ESPN over the 20 years plus that they have been broadcasting the NBA Finals. Most of those have dealt with the revolving door studio show over the years and a deluge of ads.
But this year, everything feels off. And the entire presentation of the NBA Finals makes it feel like a Friday night in January.
Let’s start with the broadcast booth that we all know has been thrown together on the fly thanks to the layoffs of Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson have never truly replaced. Mike Breen, Doris Burke, and Richard Jefferson are all great on their own merit, but they are admittedly a brand new team still trying to figure it out (https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/richard-jefferson-comparing-espn-booth-jeff-van-gundy-mark-jackson.html). And the fact that it leaked that ESPN is considering replacing Burke for next season before the series even began tells you all you need to know about how much of a disconnect exists.
The studio and halftime show is the same thing it’s always been (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/nba-finals-halftime-show-embarrassing.html). Game 1 of the Thunder-Pacers series greatly expanded what the set was able to do last year by giving the studio crew a whopping three minutes. However, most of that was filled with Stephen A. Smith yelling about Tyrese Haliburton. Don’t worry though, there was still tons and tons of commercials.
But most troubling of all is the total lack of aesthetics and big-game feel. Gone is the Larry O’Brien trophy on the court. Gone is the national anthem. Gone is the starting intros. Gone is pretty much anything and everything that would make you believe this is the NBA FINALS save for a small miniature logo at the bottom of the screen.
If the NBA is wondering why fans aren’t excited about the Thunder-Pacers matchup, it’s not the size of the markets involved. Look no further than what the league and its leading broadcast partner are communicating about the importance of the series.
The most perplexing issue here is these are all simple fixes that have been done before. It’s not like we are asking ESPN to figure out how to broadcast the game from Mars or find a way to do a 7D telecast.
Show the anthem and the player intros. Allow us to be sucked into the incredible arena atmosphere in Oklahoma City. Put the Larry O’Brien trophy on the court instead of a bunch of CGI and YouTubeTV ads. Are basketball fans here to watch the NBA Finals or is it just an opportunity to hype the upcoming Fantastic 4 movie? Give your personalities some actual time to talk about the game.
Even the NBA Cup easily communicates that their regular season games are different with their crazy court designs. And yet for the NBA Finals we can’t have anything? Make it make sense!
ESPN’s NBA coverage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_on_ESPN) during the season, especially in their studio shows, has left a lot to be desired in recent years. The network has a tendency to focus more on off-court drama and storylines than actual basketball (https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/sports-media-no-idea-talk-about-stephen-smith-espn.html). The Pacers (https://www.reddit.com/r/pacers/search/?q=ESPN&cId=7ee7c561-ee6a-48b1-a7da-6eabf8e3c5ee&iId=7df71ea4-2082-435a-ae34-2b69e3d2040b) probably got less time on ESPN airwaves than Stephen A. Smith’s feud with LeBron James (https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/nobody-looks-good-lebron-james-stephen-a-smith-feud.html) this year. And the Thunder (https://www.reddit.com/r/Thunder/search/?q=ESPN&cId=128caa8c-2653-4395-9d5e-a7f69ecfd303&iId=5407090d-3151-431c-bf89-2e0cf74b1c9c) didn’t get much more than that in spite of building what may be the NBA’s next great dynasty.
But if ESPN is also struggling to make the NBA Finals feel like they matter during the NBA Finals itself, then we have even bigger problems.
Will Thunder-Pacers draw an audience for ABC? (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/06/thunder-pacers-nba-finals-ratings-preview/)
Haliburton heroics not enough to save NBA Finals from Game 1 low (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/06/nba-finals-ratings-pacers-thunder-game-1/)
What does the NBA think about its television ratings? (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/06/nba-finals-ratings-adam-silver/)
ESPN’s Burke “not guaranteed” to return to lead NBA team (https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/06/espn-doris-burke-not-guaranteed-return-lead-nba-team-tim-legler/)