ESPN NBA Wednesday
NBA Wednesday Logo from 2011–2016
StarringMike Breen
Jeff Van Gundy
Mark Jackson
and others (see below)
Country of originUnited States
Production
Running time2 hours, 35 minutes (approximate)
Original release
NetworkESPN (2002–2003, 2007–present)
ABC (2024)
Release2002, October 2007 (2007-10) –
present
Related
ESPN NBA Friday

ESPN NBA Wednesday is a weekly presentation of National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season games on ESPN. Debuted in 2002, NBA Wednesday generally airs on most Wednesdays throughout the entire regular season. On some Wednesdays, telecasts will consist of a doubleheader, with one game typically from the east coast at 7:30 p.m ET and the other game from the west coast at 10:00 p.m. ET. On other weeks, only one NBA Wednesday game will air at 9:30 p.m ET, following the network's presentation of ACC Wednesday college basketball. NBA Wednesday may also be occasionally preempted altogether by an ACC Wednesday or other college basketball doubleheader.

NBA Wednesday, like NBA Friday, is not exclusive; local sports networks may still air the game in their market. In that case, the ESPN broadcast on these markets is subject to blackout and ESPNEWS programming is usually aired instead.

History

Originally, NBA Wednesday was broadcast by Brad Nessler and Bill Walton each week. After the 2002-2003 NBA season, ESPN ceased having a consistent broadcast team for NBA Wednesday until 2007–08, in which they used Dan Shulman and Jon Barry.

Due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, it was announced that five January 2024 NBA Wednesday games would instead air on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET instead of on ESPN as part of a Doubleheader. This fills ABC's lack of completed scripted shows on its schedule because of the strikes. ABC's coverage will also coexist with those of the local sports networks and ESPN will air a single game each night around those telecasts.[1]

Studio features

Unlike other NBA on ESPN games, a version of SportsCenter hosted by Stephen A. Smith is used as the pregame studio program for ESPN's Wednesday NBA games.

Scott Van Pelt hosts the halftime show. Van Pelt's full SportsCenter broadcast is also used as a defacto post game show and lead out.[2]

Personalities

In the 2022 season, ESPN introduced several new personalities to the network's weekday NBA programming. There are several broadcast teams but no one group is assigned specifically to NBA Wednesday. The network's "A-team" consists of Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy, a trio that is usually assigned to the more "premiere" matchup in a doubleheader.[3]

Play-by-play announcers

Color commentators

Sideline reporters

References

  1. ↑ Lewis, Jon (2023-10-02). "ABC adds Wednesday night NBA games". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  2. ↑ "SportsCenter with Stephen A. Smith to Serve as ESPN NBA Pregame Show on Wednesdays - ESPN Press Room U.S." October 21, 2019.
  3. ↑ Booth, Trevor (18 October 2021). "ESPN NBA broadcast lineup: Schedule, play-by-play, analysts and hosts for 2021-22 season". Sporting News. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  • Sherman, Ed (October 30, 2002). "ESPN jumps through hoops to do NBA right". Chicago Tribune. p. 2.


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