A team of legendary announcers and analysts and a classic graphics look will bring the past to lifeNBC Sports and Peacock will return to yesteryear for tonight's Coast 2 Coast matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia. Legendary sportscasters Bob Costas, Doug Collins, Mike Czar of the Telestrator Fratello, and Hannah Storm will give viewers a taste of what NBA on NBC coverage was like from 1990 to 2002.
Sam Flood, executive producer/president, NBC Sports Production, makes clear that this is not a one-and-done effort. We plan to do this in future years. To have Bob, Doug, and Mike in the booth calling this game will be a lot of fun, as well as having Jim Gray on the sidelines. And a big thank you to ESPN for allowing Hannah to join us.
The effort has been a lot of fun, he says, with many good memories of an era in the NBA that, in many respects, laid the foundation for where the game is today. The reunion of on-air talent is only part of the magic. The graphics look also will travel back in time, but with some modern touches.
NBC's graphics and animations for tonight's NBA game will have the look of the 1990s. We didn't have a scorebug back then, he notes. We used to put the score in, but now the scorebug will be in the whole time. And we're going to use the modern cameras with high frame rates.
The graphics will include the old Chyron-insert look and old animations, many of which were created by Neil Wright and Sue Bennett.
Neil reached out and told me how excited he was to see his work back in the mix, says Flood. Visually. we'll have graphics that were used in the mid '90s, and that's the look we've settled on as a reflection of that era of basketball for us.
The graphics team, he continues, has been hard at work in the midst of the amazing February we've just completed, but they were able to find time to make sure we honored this date and have the right look for the graphics. We'll have obviously a number of tape elements to reflect on moments [from that era].
Calling the Action
Everyone is looking forward to both the reunion and the game itself, Costas says. I don't want to shortchange the game, but seeing everybody in one place at the same time for the first time in a long time is heartwarming. It's going to be funny, and there will be stories exchanged - some of them on the air and some of them not.
If the game is close in the second half, he adds, the focus will be on the game, but viewers can expect to hear the broadcast team reflect on how the game has changed as well as seeing classic clips.
You'll hear Marv [Albert], and you'll hear Tom Hammond and see Ahmad Rashad and Peter Vecsey, Costas notes. Everyone that is not with us this time might be with us the next time.
Together for the first time in more than 20 years, Collins and Costas will be calling an NBA game tonight.Adds Collins, NBC opened up a whole new life in basketball for me, and it was a big part of my life. [Legendary NBC executive] Dick Ebersol was a huge part of my growth as an analyst. He introduced me to the importance of storytelling, who's playing, and why we want to watch this game.
Storm will host NBA Showtime, which precedes the game broadcast at 7 p.m. ET on Peacock and will alo feature Isiah Thomas and PJ Carlesimo as studio analysts. Of all the things she has done in her career, she says, her time at NBA on NBC is still front and center with those who talk to her about her career.
A lot of people say, I grew up watching you and you were part of the voice of my childhood,' she says. It's really special to be spanning the generations, and I feel very fortunate that we were there, all of us. It was a magical time when we were able to chronicle not only Michael Jordan's incredible career and the story of the Bulls but also the other great players, from Karl Malone to Hakeem Olajuwon to Charles Barkley to Patrick Ewing.
Costas also mentions behind-the-scenes legends who kept the machine humming: David Neal, Andy Rosenberg, John Gonzales - those names resonate in the business.
Adds Storm, They were our lifeline.
The on-air and production teams were in sync at a very high level. Costas recalls. You said something and they had the shot, or, if they had the shot first, you knew why they took it. Then you were able to say something that wasn't captured in that shot. But nothing came out of nowhere: it was like dance steps, and we knew all of them.
Collins adds that, as an analyst, he always felt the replays were so good and a trust developed. There were a lot of times when [production] would say. Let me show you the replays. There became a trust where they might go, Hey, Doug, we've got these three replays for you, boom. And they trusted that I was going to be able to talk through them. We could do things on the fly; it didn't have to come after a commercial.
Notes Costas, It's live sports. You can prepare all you want - and you have to prepare - but some of this is just going to happen. You'd better be able to react to what happens.
Tonight, Costas and the team will be working with some current production legends: Coordinating Producer Frank DiGraci and Director Drew Esocoff, the latter coming off directing Super Bowl LX. Adam Littlefield is coordinating producer and Jared Sumner director of NBA Showtime.
