NBC Sports Graphics Team Goes Onsite, Embraces L.A. Motif for NBA All-Star

Street-level images of iconic Los Angeles landmarks are incorporated into the regular-season look

With NBC Sports just months into its return to NBA coverage after a 24-year absence, the broadcaster's graphics team faced an interesting challenge: how to customize a brand-new visual identity for a special event without losing a look that is barely established?

For NBC Sports Senior Art Director Chad Hudson, the answer was to get closer to the ground - literally.

The look is brand-new, he explained during All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, where his team was onsite. We didn't want to reinvent the wheel totally for this, but we definitely wanted to incorporate the city into the package for All-Star.

Typically, the NBA on NBC graphics team would be located at NBC Sports' Broadcast Center in Stamford, CT, but with that facility taken over by the Milan Cortina 2026 production operation, graphics was moved onsite for NBA All-Star Weekend.

We typically don't travel a lot during the regular season, so it's great to be here and be able to collaborate and get a feel for the city, said Hudson. With so many people in Stamford for the Olympics, it just made sense for us to be here.

NBC's regular-season NBA graphics package prominently features cityscapes but with a distinctly elevated perspective. For All-Star, Hudson and company were looking for a more street-level feel.

The city scenery is already a huge part of our package, he noted, but it's more drone footage with a bird's-eye view. For All-Star, we wanted to be a little bit more intimate.

In addition, the team matched iconic L.A. landmarks to each event for All-Star Saturday. For the Shooting Stars competition, the graphics featured the Hollywood sign with shooting stars. The 3-Point Contest incorporated Griffith Observatory's long telescope lens - a visual metaphor for long-range shooting. For Slam Dunk Contest, Venice Beach's towering palm trees reinforced the event's towering heights. The approach extended to the graphics for Sunday's All-Star Game itself, which featured close-up views of areas like Rodeo Drive.

It's just a little bit closer to living in L.A. for the weekend, said Hudson. Not for nothing, but it's miserably [cold and snowy] across half the country, so this is a nice reprieve for people that are watching. It gives a warm and inviting feel.

Even the insert graphics received the L.A. treatment. L.A.-centric backgrounds were incorporated into player graphics, instead of the home-city motifs used throughout the regular season.

The NBA on NBC graphics team onsite at the Intuit Dome truck compound: (from left) Anthony Thiebaux, Chad Hudson, Denis Tskhadaia, Susan Schultz, and Alex SuarezIn addition to Hudson, key team members onsite were Designer Denis Tskhadaia, Senior Designer Alex Suarez, Project Manager Susan Schultz, Designer Anthony Thiebaux, Senior Designer Dan DeGloria, Designer Kevin Nunez, and Junior Designer Dylan Ferris.

For Hudson personally, the assignment represents a homecoming of sorts. I did [NBA graphics] for more than 10 years when I was at Turner, and it's a great feeling to be back on NBA.

Want to learn more about the NBA on NBC graphics package? Register now for the SVG GFX Forum on March 3 in NYC, where Hudson and his team will take the stage for a deep dive into how the package was created.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/02/17/nbc-sports-graphics-team-goes-o...
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