Dreaming Of Hoops: NBC Marketing Machine Ramping Up For Return Of NBA
Monday, September 8, 2025 at 06:56PM By Barry Janoff
September 8, 2025: Even as its coverage of the 2025 NFL season beings, NBC Sports is chomping at the bit for its coverage of the 2025-26 NBA campaign.
NBC returns as a league broadcast partner for the first time since coverage from 1990-2002 via 11-year, $76 billion deals with ABC-ESPN and Amazon Prime Video, as well as NBC-Peacock.
A multi-media campaign is anchored by a humorous 45-second spot, “NBA Tip-Off,” which touts that “Oct; 21 is not just the start of a new season, it marks the beginning of a new era.”
NBC’s opening night doubleheader features the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder hosting Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets, followed by the Golden State Warriors visiting the Los Angeles Lakers.
NBC said.10-, 15- and 30-second versions of the full spot would air across numerous NBCUniversal linear, digital and social media platforms.
In the spot, Thunder players including NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams are on the court waiting to be introduced to the crown.
Instead, the arena announcer introduces the NBA on NBC roster.
“At 6-8, Grant Hill. At 6-6, Vince Carter. At 6-9, Tracy McGrady. At 6-5, Jamal Crawford. At 6-8 Carmelo Anthony. And at 6-7, Reggie Millier,” who autographs a dress shoe and tosses it to a New York Knicks fan in the stands, then makes his infamous choking gesture.
NBA on NBC lead announcer Mike Tirico then appears alongside the Thunder players. “That’s my team,” he beams.
“What is happening?” asks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander “Are we supposed to play them?”
“NBA player introductions have always played a big role in getting the arena crowd — and the people watching at home — excited for the game,” Joseph Lee, NBCUniversal’ svp-creative marketing, sports and entertainment, told AP Sports.
After Sunday Night Football and NFL playoff coverage concludes in 2026, NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026.
This year, Sunday Night Basketball will pause on Feb. 8 and Feb. 15, 2026, due to NBC Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl LX (Feb. 8), the NBA All-Star Game (Feb. 15), and the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics (Feb. 6-22).
It will resume on Feb. 22 and run through April 5. Sunday nights will occasionally feature doubleheaders. A one-hour, on-site studio program will lead into game coverage each week on NBC and Peacock.
Michael Jordan, six-time NBA champion and a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, will join NBC Sports’ coverage of the NBA as a special contributor.
Maria Taylor has been named NBC Sports’ lead NBA studio host for its coverage of the NBA.
NBC Sports is bringing back its Roundball Rock NBA theme song, and will use an AI-generated voice of the late Jim Fagan (who passed away in 2017), a longtime NBC Sports narrator whose voice was synonymous with its NBA coverage and promotion.
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