• NBA Countdown’s Maria Taylor, Jalen Rose, Jay Williams and Adrian Wojnarowski Return for Second Season as Pregame and Halftime Team, Rose’s 10^th NBA Finals as Pregame and Halftime Voice
• Spike Lee Directs and Stars-in ESPN’s NBA Finals Broadcast Open
• NBA Finals on ESPN Radio and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes
• The Jump with Rachel Nichols On Site throughout NBA Finals for Weekday Shows

The 2021 NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV, exclusively on ABC, tips off this Tuesday, July 6, at 9 p.m. ET as the Phoenix Suns and Chris Paul host the Milwaukee Bucks and Khris Middleton in Game 1. Every NBA Finals game is available on ABC, the ESPN App, ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes. This year marks ESPN’s 19th consecutive season producing the NBA Finals, dating back to the 2002-03 season.

Game commentary

Mike Breen, who was honored as a Curt Gowdy Media Award recipient by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this year, returns to call his unprecedented 16^th NBA Finals as a play-by-play commentator. He will be joined by analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. The event marks Van Gundy’s 15th NBA Finals – the most for a television game analyst – and Mark Jackson’s 13^th NBA Finals – the most for a Black game analyst on any major sports championship event.

Malika Andrews will join the team to provide sideline reports throughout the series. The quartet will call the action courtside from Phoenix and Milwaukee. Steve Javie will continue to be available to provide officiating analysis and reaction from the NBA Replay Center.

NBA Countdown presented by DoorDash

Maria Taylor returns for her second season as the pregame and halftime host of the NBA Finals, alongside analysts Jalen Rose and Jay Williams and reporter Adrian Wojnarowski. 2021 marks Rose’s 10^th NBA Finals as a lead pregame and halftime analyst. All NBA Countdown presented by DoorDash shows and halftime shows will emanate from site. NBA Countdown presented by DoorDash will air on ABC 30 minutes prior to each game.

Spike Lee

ESPN recently announced that Academy Award-winning Director, Spike Lee, will direct and appear in the broadcast opens for the 2021 NBA Finals. The first of the special, custom opens will debut just prior to tip off of Game 1. The opens are inspired by the NBA legends of both yesterday and today. For more information, visit ESPN Press Room.

ESPN’s NBA Finals Cameras:

• Twenty 1080P High Frame Super Slo Mo Cameras
• Sixteen Robotic PTZ Cameras
• Two RF Sony Alpha1 Mirrorless Shallow Depth of field camera
• One Skycam with SMT AR Virtual insertion

Approximately 300 ESPN staff and personnel will contribute to NBA Finals coverage.

NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV on ABC schedule:

*If necessary

ESPN Radio

ESPN Radio, in its 26th year of NBA Finals coverage, will serve as the national audio home of the event. Marc Kestecher will describe the game action with analyst Jon Barry, as well as analyst and Curt Gowdy Media Award-winner Doris Burke, who is in her second season as NBA Finals game analyst. In 2020, Burke became the first woman to become a game analyst on any platform for the NBA Finals. Kevin Winter will host ESPN Radio’s pregame and halftime coverage with analysts PJ Carlesimo and Monica McNutt. Stephen A. Smith will also join the team at halftime of each game.

The Jump

The Jump, ESPN’s weekday NBA show, will hit the road for on-site telecasts Mondays through Fridays during the NBA Finals. Rachel Nichols will host The Jump with a cast of top analysts and reporters, including Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins. Jefferson, a Phoenix native, will provide viewers with a tour of his hometown and discuss what a championship would mean for the city. Other analysts, including Vince Carter and guest analyst Chris Bosh, will join The Jump virtually during the NBA Finals.

Hoop Streams

Hoop Streams, ESPN’s digital NBA pregame show, will precede each game with one-hour shows on ESPN’s Twitter, YouTube and Facebook platforms, as well as the ESPN App. Cassidy Hubbarth hosts Hoop Streams with analyst Kendrick Perkins and will preview all the game action.

SportsCenter with Stephen A. Smith

SportsCenter with Stephen A. Smith will air prior to NBA Countdown on NBA Finals game days. Smith will provide insight and commentary on the NBA Finals with special guests, including Curt Gowdy Media Award-winner Michael Wilbon.

ESPN.com

ESPN.com’s dedicated NBA section will provide comprehensive NBA Finals coverage leading into – and throughout – the event. ESPN’s esteemed collection of reporters and insiders will provide news updates, feature stories and game reactions.

NBA Finals on ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes will provide exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the NBA Finals with the team of play-by-play voice Ernesto Jerez and analysis by former NBA player Fabricio Oberto. Sebastian Martinez Christensen will report from site. Telecast will be preceded by NBA Esta Noche hosted by Leo Montero, alongside former NBA player Andrés Nocioni.

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