The ‘NBA on NBC’ studio show already needs a major overhaul

NBC couldn’t have asked for much more in its first postseason back airing the NBA than what this San Antonio vs. Oklahoma City series has delivered.

Getting to air Victor Wembanyama’s first conference finals and the series many believe could decide the championship has paid off with massive viewership and constant chatter. Anyone who cares about basketball has been tuning into NBC every other night these past couple of weeks to watch Thunder-Spurs.

We got a classic call from Mike Tirico — “He’s unbelievable, folks, unbelievable!” — along with whatever was going on with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during that postgame interview after Game 2, endless debate about SGA’s style of play, the Stephen Castle dunk; plenty to qualify the series as one of the most memorable in recent history, even amid some blowouts.

Considering NBC is scheduled to alternate conference finals with Prime Video over the course of its 11-year NBA broadcast rights deal, fortune clearly smiled upon the network this spring.

However, the magnitude of these games also put a spotlight on NBC’s undercooked, misguided NBA Showtime studio show, which clearly wasn’t ready for the big stage. The star-studded cast of Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, and Vince Carter has not gelled. Despite an all-time, generation-shifting series playing out before their eyes, the show has failed to make a mark. The best analysts key audiences into aspects of the game that help fans understand and appreciate what they are watching. If we’re lucky, we get some entertainment as well. NBA Showtime does neither.

NBC isn’t shelling out nearly $2.5 billion per year (on a deal that may value the NBA more highly than the NFL, depending on who you ask) and flying the studio crew to broadcast on-site each week to have a subpar product. The network has time to get the show right, but that will require starting over this offseason.

The biggest issue with the NBC show is that its panelists lack chemistry. Maria Taylor looks visibly uncomfortable fishing for insights. With three former players roughly the same age who were all scoring forwards during their playing careers, NBC had to be thinking that the shared perspectives and good vibes would translate to air. That never happened, though you can see the three’s effort to pull silliness out of one another. Some of the awkwardness is forgiven here in year one, yet McGrady and Carter were not only teammates in Toronto but are second cousins and co-host a podcast together. Both also have previous television experience.

The most glaring weak link on the chemistry side is Anthony. The Hall of Famer was one of NBC’s first hires, and it seemed like a coup. The network, clearly hyped to nab him, introduced Anthony all the way back at last year’s Kentucky Derby. After entering the media through a podcast with Wave, most network executives would have expected Anthony to be a star, bringing name recognition, a broad perspective, and familiarity with the modern game.

Yet while Anthony has gotten sharper and more concise over the course of his debut season, it’s almost impossible to tell anything about Anthony’s point of view on basketball while watching him. The show should be geared around his opinions, the same way Inside the NBA leans on Charles Barkley or NBA on Prime centers around Blake Griffin. Instead, the famously score-first star seems like he can’t pass the rock quickly enough when it comes his way on-air.

Anthony’s misguided attempt to credit disgraced former Dallas general manager Nico Harrison for Mavericks star Cooper Flagg’s Rookie of the Year win is the best example of what has gone wrong. While Anthony initially seemed to be broadening the conversation and addressing the elephant in the room about the Mavs, it quickly became clear he wasn’t joking. Even as his co-hosts laughed at what they thought was a joke, Anthony continued to defend Harrison. The gaffe went viral, one of the only times all year that Anthony broke through.

One area where the show shines is with postgame interviews. Taylor expertly plays point guard, setting up the panel for human moments and pointed questions with players. You remember that, during these conversations, Anthony, McGrady, and Carter each played in the league for nearly two decades. They understand team dynamics and locker-room roles and can connect with players.

Because of the lack of flair elsewhere, McGrady has become the quiet force of the show. Anyone who watched ESPN’s The Jump in its early days remembers McGrady’s unfiltered perspective and comfort on-air. He has rediscovered that form at NBC, offering bold takes that, at the very least, give Anthony and Carter something to bounce off of. McGrady has also shown he will play the modern media game, wading into the Jaylen Brown story this month with allusions to Brown potentially leaving Boston.

That leaves Carter, who you would be forgiven for forgetting has quietly been in NBA media almost a decade, as the odd man out. Carter is a familiar type of former player in the media: universally liked but almost stubbornly determined never to say anything controversial. Unless Carter heats up his takes by next season, he is giving NBC no reason to keep him on air. Though Carter can occasionally shine breaking down film, the show doesn’t need another tame, calm presence. It needs some personality, something for fans to latch onto.

During the West finals, the show has understandably leaned into commentary on Wembanyama: his demeanor, his approach, his adjustments. Because Wemby is one of a kind, the coverage is compelling. But all three panelists lean into basic tropes and cliches, the fluff that former athletes fall back on far too often.

Part of what makes a show like Inside the NBA sing is that the audience knows what to expect from each panelist. While NBA Showtime will never catch up to the history fans have with Inside, the Prime Video squad built up that familiarity quickly. Griffin is the voice of the show; Udonis Haslem leads on Xs and Os; Dirk Nowitzki is the comic relief and the most accomplished winner; Steve Nash is the former coach and almost a second host. I couldn’t begin to give the NBC guys labels like that.

Taylor’s work on WNBA coverage is a reminder that she can be a strong anchor with the right cast. She is smooth and keyed into how to make each analyst better. NBC, though, seems to have over-corrected toward star power after recasting its NFL studio, or maybe they just picked the wrong guys. Either way, the NBA show needs a major overhaul.

NBC has earned praise from audiences and industry insiders alike for nailing the presentation, look, and feel of its games, which it calls “new-stalgia.” The studio is the clear weak point.

When NBC brought in game analysts Reggie Miller or Jamal Crawford, the show was instantly stronger. Special contributor Caitlin Clark was, of course, a novelty, but also packed more punch with her opinions than the analysts paid to drive the show. Unfortunately, none of Miller, Crawford, or Clark can save NBA Showtime.

Insiders and reporters are still woefully underused in NBA television. Can NBC find its basketball Mike Florio? Could the network coax someone like David Aldridge out of retirement, or poach a Zach Lowe or Marc Stein from Amazon? It already employs Chris Mannix.

On that note, NBC could just promote some of its lower-level talent to the top studio show for next season. Brian Scalabrine and Austin Rivers are also younger and know how to break through with strong opinions. NBC gave Chris Bosh a few appearances down the stretch of the season, and judging from his social media feeds, the widely admired, thoughtful former Heatle is ready to get in the game.

If the network really wanted to get creative, it could expand its partnership with content creator Kenny Beecham to include on-air duties. Retired point guard-turned-streamer Gilbert Arenas hinted at conversations with NBC last year; reviving those conversations would certainly get attention. There is no shortage of former players putting out podcasts who would love a shot on television.

While Anthony laid an egg in his first year on air, it would be hard to imagine NBC pulling the plug right away. But if they keep him and build on McGrady’s promise, that leaves just one open seat on the main desk, asking a lot of the replacement to help overhaul the show.

Overreacting would probably be a mistake for NBC. It doesn’t have a conference finals series next season, and it really just needs to take NBA Showtime from forgettable and awkward to merely solid. The studio show is a blemish on the broadcast right now, but NBC is nailing the most important aspects of its coverage. Improving the studio would enhance the overall experience and get NBC back to the position it held for NBA fans a generation ago, when people remembered the network and its personalities nearly as much as the characters on the court.