ABC/ESPN Prepares for 2025 NBA Draft, the First at Barclays Center

ABC/ESPN Prepares for 2025 NBA Draft, the First at Barclays Center Partners Game Creek Video, CP Communications, NEP Specialty Capture will be on hand By Mark J Burns, SVG Contributor

Tuesday, June 24, 2025 - 2:34 pm

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For the first time ever, the NBA Draft will be held across two days at Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets. And it marks the 23rd consecutive year ESPN has broadcast the annual summer event. The first round will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN on Wednesday, starting at 8 p.m. ET; ESPN will exclusively air the second round on Thursday evening.

The 2025 NBA Draft will take place at the Brooklyn Nets' Barclays Center on June 25 and 26. (All photos: ABC/ESPN)

The NBA Draft is a showcase event, says ESPN Senior Operations Manager Tommy Mitchell. The intention is to foster hope amongst the league's fans as they look to the future. ESPN's strategy is to create exposure for two sides of the story.

The first is the basketball side, he continues. What is each team's strategy around its strengths and weaknesses and how do certain players fit and benefit the vision of the team. The other is the human interest in each of these draft picks. They all had a journey to make it to this night, and each is unique. Highlighting those paths about the individual are part of what makes the Draft compelling.

Adds ESPN Senior Operations Specialist Cindy Pennington, Our ESPN operation and production teams bring their expertise and energy to the Barclays Center with the goal to deliver a tremendous live broadcast of one of basketball's biggest nights. From set design and lighting to camera coordination and virtual graphics, our crew works tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that every moment, from the first pick to the final interview, is captured with precision.

ABC/ESPN partner Game Creek Video has deployed its Spirit A and B production trucks, along with its 9 4 and Edit 3, at Barclays Center. CP Communications is supporting ABC and ESPN's RF audio and video coverage, and NEP Specialty Capture (formerly Fletcher) is placing robotic cameras and DreamChips throughout the arena.

The ESPN NBA Draft operations team includes (from left) Game Creek Video EIC Evan Aaron; ABC Operations Producer BJ Smith; NBA Today Operations Producer Brittany Dippolito; ESPN Operations Specialist Cindy Pennington; ESPN Operations Producer Tony Gregory; ESPN Senior Operations Coordinators Sam Majewski and Kylene Hamulak; and ESPN Transmission Operations Specialist Tim Denyes.

Across the multi-day event, ABC/ESPN will deploy 24 handheld cameras, two Steadicams, one Ronin, five jibs, multiple DreamChips, and a Supracam, per Pennington. Also, nine Gen 5 Viz machines will support the virtual and graphics teams, and several microphones will be deployed on ABC, ESPN, and NBA Today broadcast sets. In addition, there will be 53 transmission paths for the broadcast production, Pennington says.

Vendor CP Communications is supporting ABC and ESPN's RF audio and video coverage.

Because the NBA Draft is more entertainment-style show than traditional sports coverage, Mitchell adds, there's some freedom with leveraging opportunities to increase the creative and technology assets deployed for the overall production. That includes drone coverage, virtual cameras, the three-point Supracam system, and the 360-degree Red Carpet camera. Nearly 230 technicians, vendors, and production personnel will be on hand for the entire Draft.

There will be some logistical challenges as ABC/ESPN moves from Night 1 coverage in the bowl of the Barclays Center to the atrium for Night 2, Mitchell says, noting, There's always a plan, and there's always a backup plan. The operations team has worked extensively with the stadium folks and the NBA to make sure that we are set up for success.

In terms of audio coverage for ABC/ESPN, given the short turnaround time between the NBA Finals and the Draft, ESPN Lead RF A2 Matt Leshner explains, the broadcaster's audio group has worked with CP Communications and Game Creek Video to prefabricate custom racks for each broadcast location to streamline setup time.

The NBA Draft virtual-graphics team is led by Brad Griswold (left) and Samantha Pratt.

Adds Mitchell, who is in his second year overseeing operations for the NBA Draft, Our goal always remains serving sports fans. Anytime. Anywhere. That's what ESPN is all about, and the NBA Draft is no exception.

First-round coverage will begin Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, with Kevin Negandhi hosting ABC's coverage alongside analysts Stephen A. Smith and Bob Myers, former GM, Golden State Warriors. Monica McNutt will be the reporter. ESPN's broadcast will feature host Malika Andrews and analysts Jay Bilas, Kendrick Perkins, and Andraya Carter on the main set. NBA reporter Shams Charania will make his NBA Draft debut for ESPN, and additional analysts and basketball experts will join the discussion.

For Thursday's second round, Andrews will once again host ESPN's coverage, with Bilas, Perkins, Myers, and McNutt providing commentary. Charania, NBA Front Office Insider Bobby Marks, analyst Jonathan Givony, and Senior NBA Writer Brian Windhorst will participate in the coverage.

ESPN Radio coverage for the NBA Draft will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on both nights. Host Alan Hahn will lead coverage, with analysts P.J. Carlesimo, Seth Greenberg, and Cory Alexander.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/06/24/abc-espn-prepares-for-2025-nba-...
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