NBA broadcaster Kevin Harlan has indicated that the TNT announce crew will likely call games from the network’s Atlanta studio when the league takes its show to Orlando, Florida, next month.
Last week, the NBA Board of Governors and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) agreed to go ahead with the proposed 22-team restart in a bubble at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in the said location.
Harlan outlined TNT’s plan to cover the games in an interview with SirusXM NBA Radio (H/T The Athletic).
He said:
“What I’ve heard from the folks at TNT is we will be in the studios in Atlanta and they will set up as close to possible a broadcast table like we would have courtside. We will have, I’m assuming, crowd noise pumped into our headsets.
“I think for the viewer, I don’t think it’s going to seem dramatically different. Now you’re not going to have courts that you recognize from Milwaukee or Los Angeles or Boston, so that’s going to be a little bit weird. But if we’re all just kind of sitting there watching, I don’t know that we’ll really notice a great deal of difference. The one thing I have heard is that not until the conference finals would there be any consideration for broadcasters being in this setting. That might be the first time that an actual broadcaster might be on-site, doing a conference final, and of course, the NBA Finals.”
Not As Far-Fetched As NBA Fans Might Think
Despite what NBA fans are used to, the above plan isn’t all that strange as American crews have been calling various sporting events from around the world from studios in the U.S.
There could be some camera operations from inside the bubble but that could be done remotely too, if needs be.
The NBA has yet to make an announcement as it pertains to media functionality in Orlando but it’s safe to assume they won’t want any more press members than are absolutely necessary.
