The ''NBA on ESPN Radio'' is a broadcast of
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
games on the
ESPN Radio network. The program began on January 21,
1996 and the current contract runs through the extra season.
Coverage overview
The ''NBA on ESPN Radio'' broadcasts games on a weekly basis, many more than once. Game coverage includes:
*Select weeknight games, with varying days on a week-by-week basis
*
Christmas double header games
*''
NBA Saturday Primetime'' games
*
NBA All-Star Weekend The National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend is a weekend festival held every February during the middle of the NBA regular season that consists of a variety of basketball events, exhibitions, and performances culminating in the NBA All-Star ...
festivities, including the
All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...
*Select postseason games, including all of the
NBA Finals
Commentators
Currently, the lead commentary team for the ''NBA on ESPN Radio'' is
Marc Kestecher
Marc David Kestecher (born March 22, 1968) is a play-by-play announcer radio sports and news anchor.
Early life and education
He was raised in Guilderland, New York and graduated from Syracuse University's S. I. Newhouse School of Public Commun ...
and
Jon Barry
Jon Alan Barry (born July 25, 1969) is an American former basketball player and current television analyst for ABC and ESPN.
Biography
Barry is the son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry and Pam Connolly, and has three brothers: Scooter, Brent, a ...
, with occasional contributions provided by
P. J. Carlesimo,
Hubie Brown
Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American retired basketball coach and player and a current television analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors being separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the Naism ...
,
Rosalyn Gold-Onwude
Rosalyn Fatima Gold-Onwude (; born April 28, 1987) is an American-Nigerian sports broadcaster. A native of New York City, Gold-Onwude played college basketball at Stanford and played on the Nigeria national team.
Gold-Onwude covers NBA basketba ...
, Corey Alexander and
Kelenna Azubuike
Kelenna David Azubuike (born 16 December 1983) is a British-Nigerian-American former professional basketball player and currently the Golden State Warriors television analyst on NBC Sports Bay Area.
Born in London, England and raised in Tulsa, ...
as analysts along with Sean Kelley for
play-by-play
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
. Sideline reporter-turned full-time color commentator
Doris Burke
Doris Burke ( Sable) is an American sports announcer and analyst for NBA on ESPN, NBA on ABC, College Basketball on ESPN, and College Basketball on ABC games. She formerly worked as an analyst for WNBA games on MSG, and has worked on New Yor ...
joins the radio crew calling the conference finals and the NBA Finals since 2020.
Past contributors to the ''NBA on ESPN Radio'' have included
Jim Durham,
Kevin Calabro
Kevin Paul Calabro (born June 27, 1956) is an American sportscaster based in Seattle, Washington. The longtime voice of the former Seattle SuperSonics NBA franchise, Calabro has primarily called NBA basketball but has also announced collegiate fo ...
,
Brent Musburger,
Mike Tirico,
Dave Pasch
Dave Pasch (born August 11, 1972) is an ESPN announcer, covering the NBA, college football, and college basketball. He is also the radio play-by-play voice of the Arizona Cardinals.
Personal life
Pasch grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, to parents ...
,
Dave Flemming
David Braxton Flemming (born May 31, 1976) is an American sportscaster who has been a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2003. Flemming also calls college football, college basketball, major leagu ...
,
Doug Brown,
Tim Legler,
Howard David
Howard David is an American sportscaster.
Biography
Over the years, David has been the radio play-by-play man for several pro sports teams including the NBA's New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics and the NFL's New York Jets an ...
,
Dr. Jack Ramsay, and
Will Perdue
William Edward Perdue III (born August 29, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a member of four NBA championship teams, three with the Chicago Bulls (1991–1993) and ...
.
Availability
As of 2022, the ''NBA on ESPN Radio'' is part of ESPN Radio’s main lineup, instead of in an opt-in/opt-out basis by
ESPN Radio affiliates like in previous years (although affiliates retain the ability to opt out of broadcasts involving their in-market teams). It is also available in several regions outside the U.S.
Most ''NBA on ESPN Radio'' games can be heard on mobile devices and connected televisions via the ESPN app as well as many other radio apps, including
TuneIn
TuneIn is a global audio streaming service delivering live news, radio, sports, music, and podcasts to over 75 million monthly active users.
TuneIn is operated by the company TuneIn Inc. which is based in San Francisco, California. The compan ...
and
iHeartRadio (mostly from ESPN Radio affiliates streaming on iHeartRadio).
References
Press Release: 2006-07 NBA SEASON ON ESPN BEGINS NOV. 1
External links
NBA on ESPN RadioESPN Radio official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nba On Espn Radio
American sports radio programs
ESPN Radio programs
ESPN Radio
1996 radio programme debuts
1990s American radio programs
2000s American radio programs
2010s American radio programs
2020s American radio programs