The NBA on NBC has leaned into nostalgia for their grand return this season after a 20-year-plus hiatus. And while the network has carefully threaded the needle when it comes to mixing the old with the new with the likes of Roundball Rock and their new broadcast team, they went all the way in with their Throwback Tuesday broadcast.
The first half of NBC’s Coast to Cost Tuesday doubleheader featured the San Antonio Spurs playing at the Philadelphia 76ers. And calling the game was a who’s who of the original stars of the glory days of the NBA on NBC. Bob Costas, who recently returned to the network he called home for decades, worked the play-by-play. He was joined by Doug Collins and Mike Fratello as game analysts.
As Costas welcomed viewers to the telecast, he joked that the network was getting the band back together, saying, “Think of it as sort of like Crosby, Stills, and Nash… but not Young.”
But the trio in the broadcast booth was not alone. ESPN anchor Hannah Storm was back at her old stomping grounds as the host of pregame studio coverage on Peacock (appropriately dubbed NBA Showtime) and she was joined by P.J. Carlesimo and Isiah Thomas as analysts. Even Jim Gray made an appearance on national television once again as the sideline reporter for the game.
“And now, the NBA All-Star game trophy is named after Kobe Bryant, it was a great joy and honor to cover his career.”
Jim Gray returns to NBA on NBC and speaks about Kobe Bryant’s career and his experiences covering him. pic.twitter.com/chhT20etRi
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) March 4, 2026
It wasn’t just the announcers though, the entire graphics package was designed to bring that vintage 1990s look and feel. Even the very basic scorebug on the bottom right of the screen looked like it was from the days of David Robinson and Allen Iverson.
And as far as basketball fans at home? They were loving every minute of it as the early reviews came in during the opening parts of the telecast. Everyone on the broadcast earned praise, especially Doug Collins, who sounded like he hadn’t missed a beat even years after calling his last game on national television.
NBC absolutely nailed the graphics package from the original NBA on NBC.
This throwback telecast is artistry. pic.twitter.com/Zy1fM2UFGR
— Gershon Rabinowitz (@GershOnline) March 4, 2026
Flipped to NBC’s throwback night. Can Doug Collins call games the rest of the season? He’s terrific and always has been.
— Nick Sabato (@NickSabatoGNN) March 4, 2026
Pretty much everyone on NBC’s NBA throwback broadcast is currently working on NBA coverage, save for Doug Collins. But Collins sounds like not a moment has passed since he last called games for ESPN years ago.
— Sports Media Watch (@paulsen_smw) March 4, 2026
Seeing Tyrese Maxey hit a 3 with Bob Costas commentating & that throwback NBA on NBC score box in the corner have me feeling all different types of emotions…
This is amazing pic.twitter.com/MJaGxNMJwd
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) March 4, 2026
All these throwback graphics and highlights of old NBA on NBC games on this broadcast. This means something to me, man. pic.twitter.com/JTRbxLPGYz
— Launchpad McQuack (@Psidestep1919) March 4, 2026
I love this from NBC tonight with the NBA throwback feel. Would’ve loved to see Peter Vecsey on here to make to it complete. But the presentation/feel is why NBC helped my NBA fandom
— Evan Barnes (@evan_b) March 4, 2026
This throwback Tuesday for NBA on NBC has me feeling like a kid again.
Peacock is leading the charge with how basketball should be delivered. pic.twitter.com/TxFsEOxSXj
— Chris (@chriswardjr) March 4, 2026
Love the old-school broadcast so far.
Now do this once a week and make the teams play with old-school physicality as well.
If you’re going to go old-school, go all the way in with it. https://t.co/LErYN2JQao
— Justin Termine (@TermineRadio) March 4, 2026
This is how I grew up falling in love with the NBA. The old graphics. The production value. Costas and Fratello! NBC is killing it https://t.co/o5g9drMex9
— Evans Boston (@EvansBoston) March 4, 2026
This is so good.
The mix of highlighting past stars with current stars in the intro is 🔥🔥
And the allure of watching national broadcasts was hearing the best announcers call your team’s games and give their takes. That’s been lost in this modern era, so hope this is a start. https://t.co/6ZFXajwfSl
— Alex Tam 譚汶材 (@alexctam) March 4, 2026
It’s clear that Throwback Tuesday has been a home run with NBA fans and continues a great run that NBC has been on coming off a successful February with the NBA All-Star Game, Super Bowl, and Winter Olympics. It’s difficult to strike the right balance and know when to pull the heartstrings of nostalgia and how many times you can go to the well without it feeling overdone. But something like a yearly throwback game to bring back the good feelings of the vintage days of the league while properly mixing in the current appreciation of today’s stars can only be a positive for everyone.
About Matt Yoder