The NBA on NBC will make its long-awaited return in October with a plethora of name-brand basketball talent.
Brad Daugherty, Derek Fisher, Michael Grady, and more are ready to Roundball Rock.
NBC Sports finalized its roster of broadcasters for its upcoming return to NBA coverage for the 2025-26 season on Thursday: Grady is the latest play-by-play man to join the cause while hardwood veterans Daugherty, Fisher, Robbie Hummel, Austin Rivers, and Brian Scalabrine will serve as analysts. Coverage is set to begin on Oct. 21, as part of a Tuesday night national package across the broadcast network and the streaming service Peacock.
Set for a third run at documenting the Association, NBC is back on the NBA broadcasting circuit as part of a $76 billion media deal that also includes Amazon and The Walt Disney Company. The network is best-known for broadcasting some of the most memorable moments of turn-of-the-century basketball, during its second run of coverage between 1990 and 2002.
Grady joins a list of narrators that also features Noah Eagle, Terry Gannon, and Mike Tirico. In addition to his new post, he will continue his ongoing duties as the television voice of the Minnesota Timberwolves on FanDuel Sports Network North. Grady is also a part-time commentator for New York Liberty WNBA games broadcast on local networks WNYW and WWOR. Previous national work for Grady includes NBA games for ESPN and TNT Sports.
Daugherty is engaging in double duty for NBC Sports, as he continues to serve as an analyst for the network’s NASCAR coverage, which also airs on USA Network. He’s currently a co-owner of Hyak Motorsports, which fields the No. 47 Chevrolet of 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the premier Cup Series. A five-time NBA All-Star who spent his entire eight-year career with the Cleveland Cavaliers after they made him the No. 1 pick in the 1986 draft, Daugherty joins former North Carolina collegiate teammate and NBC analyst-to-be Michael Jordan.
As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, Fisher was part of three NBA Finals showings on NBC between 2000 and 2002. It was part of an 18-season NBA playing career that also featured stops in Golden State, Utah, Oklahoma City, and Dallas. Fisher partook in eight editions of the Finals in all, winning five with the Lakers. Upon his retirement after the 2013-14 season, Fisher was the NBA’s all-time leader in postseason games played (since passed by LeBron James). He has also served as the head coach of the NBA’s New York Knicks and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.
Hummel is another NBC holdover, having worked with their expanded college basketball coverage, particularly the Big Ten Conference. He stands as a Big Ten legend, having spent five seasons with the Purdue Boilermakers and becoming one of their most accomplished talents. Hummel spent two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves and previous media experience includes television with Big Ten Network and ESPN and radio with Sirius XM and Westwood One.
Rivers has also worked with NBC Sports, joining their college basketball coverage this year. He played 11 NBA seasons between New Orleans, Los Angeles, Washington, Houston, New York, Denver, and Minnesota. He was an All-American at Duke and was the 10th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Pelicans. In addition to game duties, Rivers will also engage in studio coverage.
The list is rounded out by Scalabrine, who went viral during his playing days as the “White Mamba.” Scalabrine began an 11-year playing career with the New Jersey Nets and he later won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. The USC alum has worked with NBC on a local level for the past decade-plus at NBC Sports Boston, where he succeeded the late Tommy Heinsohn as the Celtics’ primary color commentator.
Under the new 11-year media deal, NBC Sports is set to air 100 regular season games per year between the broadcast network and Peacock, which includes landmark games such as holidays and Sunday and Tuesday nights (the former tipping off after “Sunday Night Football” coverage wraps in early winter). NBC will also carry most of NBA All-Star Weekend (with the exception of the Celebrity Game, which still belongs to ESPN) as well as playoff games, including a conference finals set in even-numbered years.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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