NBA Playoffs 2022: ESPN Wraps League's 75th Anniversary With Captivating Postseason Talent teams will be stationed on specific coasts By Kristian Hern ndez, Associate Editor
Friday, April 15, 2022 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2021-22 NBA season rolls toward its end, but, before the league's brightest stars take to the hardwood to fight for the Larry O'Brien trophy, teams in the Eastern and Western Conference continue to battle it out for the last coveted playoff spots in a handful of play-in games. After six months of memorable moments, packed arenas, and record-breaking performances, ESPN is building up for this postseason run with positive momentum from the regular season.
We felt really good about the regular season with a mixture of REMI [remote] and REMCO [remote-controlled graphics] productions, says Tim Corrigan, senior coordinating producer, ESPN. From the very start, we said that NBA 75 was something that we were going to care about and incorporate into every broadcast. We made sure to salute and pay tribute to people who were pioneers throughout the history of the league.
Regular-Season Recap: NBA75 Celebration Game Caps Off Historic Year In a season dedicated to 75 years of the National Basketball Association, one instance stands above the rest. Penciled in at the end of the season, ESPN presented a packaged showcase that honored the lineage of the league. On Wednesday, April 6, the NBA75 Celebration Game on ESPN2 pitted the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks with an added twist: the alternative telecast deployed production methods used from the 1960s to today. This included implementation of different graphics for each quarter, iconic theme and period-specific music, and other nods to each era, including the use of black-and-white video.
ESPN's first-round coverage of the NBA Playoffs begins with Utah Jazz vs. Dallas Mavericks at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 16.
On the broadcast side, the NBA Finals broadcast team of Curt Gowdy Media Award-winner Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and reporter Lisa Salters were on the call. Special guests were also part of this endeavor, including basketball greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, broadcasting legends like Bob Costas and Marv Albert, ESPN colleagues like Bill Walton, and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Hubie Brown, who served as analyst for the main game broadcast on ESPN with Ryan Ruocco and Cassidy Hubbarth.
It was really fun having everyone [on that show] while also looking back at the production techniques that changed over time, says Corrigan. It was a great way for us to conclude this special season.
Playoff Productions: Play-In Games Keep Broadcast Teams on Each Coast Now in the playoffs, ESPN began its coverage with a pair of play-In games on Wednesday, April 13: Atlanta's victory over Charlotte and New Orleans's win over San Antonio. On Friday night, the Hawks will play the Cleveland Cavaliers on ESPN.
With the addition of the play-in games, the production team has encountered some logistical hurdles. To overcome them, on-air talent has been split into two teams assigned to specific coasts. For example, Breen, Jackson, Van Gundy, and Salters were on hand at Atlanta's State Farm Arena, and the team comprising Mark Jones, Doris Burke, and Hubbarth were at New Orleans's Smoothie King Center. The former will travel to Cleveland for Hawks vs. Cavaliers second-round play-in; the latter heads to Los Angeles for Pelicans vs. Clippers. Jones/Burke/Hubbarth will remain on the Western Conference part of the bracket and call Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors on Saturday, April 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC; Breen/Van Gundy/Jackson/Salters stays on the East Coast for Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics on Sunday, April 17 at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
The NBA75 Celebration game featured graphics from each decade of the league.
Like the announcers, operations will follow a specific type of workflow. First-round broadcasts will be produced remotely with remote-controlled graphics, but, as the postseason progresses, personnel will head onsite with only graphics done remotely.
Productions are much better when you have the entire team onsite, says Corrigan. I feel really good about our operations, and people are excited to get back into the field.
The play-in games will be handled by a crew of 45 onsite staffers, and, as the Conference Finals and NBA Finals approach, the onsite group will slowly reach about 300 individuals. As for the tech arsenal, the first-round games will deploy 12-20 cameras and specialty cameras like Skycam, 4K super-slo-mos, and one of the shallow-depth-of-field variety. In the following rounds, Corrigan is bullish on increasing the use of drones and marrying them with enhanced virtual graphics that have been seen throughout the season.
NFL broadcasts did an amazing job of taking familiar shots of buildings and giving depth and intimacy [to those angles], he says. We're hoping to accomplish some of those same things as well as adding more virtual elements with enhanced graphics.
Full Steam Ahead: ESPN Accentuates Successful Season With Postseason Play Another year of regular-season basketball is in the books, with the broadcaster having pushed the technological and creative envelope each week. From a host of alternative broadcasts to an all-female broadcast, the 2021-22 campaign was a collaboration that enlisted every department at ESPN.
Whether it's production, operations, programming, or sales, all of our teams are moving forward as one, says Corrigan. We're all coming up with interesting ideas, and everyone is open to the best one.
Special guests like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar joined the celebration of NBA's 75th anniversary.
When he cites the full-team effort behind the season, he tr
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
NBA Playoffs 2022: ESPN Wraps League's 75th Anniversary With Captivating Postseason Talent teams will be stationed on specific coasts By Kristian Hern ndez, Associate Editor 
