Game 2 between the Timberwolves and Nuggets in Denver on Tuesday night delivered about as much as a first-round NBA playoff series possibly can.
In the latest clash in what has become one of the league’s signature rivalries, Anthony Edwards played through visible knee pain to outclass Nikola Jokic and Co. once again.
Perhaps the only problem for viewers at home was NBC’s broadcast booth, which featured two announcers closely linked to Minnesota: FanDuel Sports Network North’s Michael Grady on play-by-play and former Timberwolves guard Austin Rivers on commentary.
Their presence was widely noted on social media, especially by Nuggets fans.
In the r/NBA subreddit, fans alternated between praising Grady for a standout performance, calling the game, and accusing him and Rivers of bias.
While it’s easy for a Denver fan to call this out, the grouping was a bit strange by NBC. Rivers was mostly paired with Robbie Hummel in the Monday-night “On the Bench” broadcasts this season, while the third wheel, Brian Scalabrine, was mostly used as a fill-in analyst while calling Celtics games locally for NBC Sports Boston.
When fans aren’t used to an announce team, they are more likely to complain about it. And even with the top broadcasters in the industry, fans often level accusations of bias or preferential treatment. Fox’s Joe Davis, ESPN’s Mike Breen, and many others deal with this while calling championship events nationally.
In particular, fans react strongly to the use of nicknames (like Grady and the analysts calling Anthony Edwards “Ant” or “Ant-Man” throughout the game) and other hints of the familiarity a team’s local announcer might bring to the national call. While Rivers certainly still has relationships in Minnesota after playing there during his final NBA season, anyone frustrated by that fact also has to note that he played for the Nuggets for the two seasons before that.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.