The Josh Innes Show - NBA on NBC

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

The reboot of the NBA on NBC will feature many things that will make old school NBA fans feel really good. I'm kind of intrigued. Was the NBA on NBC intro better than old school Monday Night Football? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People are really excited about the return of the NBA on NBC. And there is a nostalgic part of this that is kind of cool because the last time basketball was truly in the national zeitgeist was back when the NBA on NBC was a big deal. What was the last year of the NBA on NBC? It was sometime in the early 2000s. Then ABC got the finals and it was really weird because Al Michaels was calling the finals and it really just wasn't good. It didn't have that same flair as Marv Albert. Then of course Marv Albert had to go bite that woman on the back and get

fired and then Bob Costas had to call it. Even Bob Costas used to be tolerable. I think Bob Costas may go down as one of those dudes who I used to really kind of enjoy always smarmy but back in the day you didn't know how smarmy people were because they weren't super political publicly. So you'd see Bob Costas and he was kind of this little dude, you know, he's always looking really young and he was always the host. He was never like the analyst of

anything and he was never a play-by-play guy for the most part. Like he did the World Series some on NBC and you know, did the NBA on NBC in 98 I guess was that the only year he did it was 98? Did do one or two finals with Jordan I don't remember but he did it after Marv Albert got whacked and like Bob Costas was a guy that was likable and then sometime in the 2000s when people started getting hyper political and using their platform to be hyper political, they started just getting more insufferable. And Bob Costas is one of those guys that got insufferable and just smarmy. And one of the things I've always hated about Costas is how people fawn over his baseball

knowledge and like then you actually like listen to him do baseball shit and he's just boring. Like they had him doing play by play and it's been awful and now he doesn't do it anymore because it's awful. I just something about Bob Costas that I find smarmy and terrible but the NBA on NBC was truly the apex of sports viewing like you had Monday Night Football and that was great and obviously at least for my era Frank and Alan Dan was Monday Night Football.

I didn't live with Cosell and Dandy Don and Keith Jackson initially and then Frank Gifford. But my Monday Night Football, when I first started watching football, was Frank Gifford, Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf. That was my Monday Night Football and my dad would take me to, if the Chiefs were playing, because we were Chiefs people growing up because he's from Missouri and there was no Cardinals anymore. We lived in Springfield, moved up to Montana. We would go watch Monday night football and sometimes Sunday football at different sports bars.

It's wild to me that my dad ever took me to do that. When I think about my dad now, my dad is not a go sit at a sports bar and watch a game kind of guy. It's wild to me to think that there were times in my life and my youth that my dad would take me to a sports bar on a Sunday afternoon in Springfield or in I don't know, Billings, Montana and watch an entire football game at a sports bar. He doesn't drink. So I mean he does a little on occasion, but not much. So we

would just sit there and watch these games. And it's wild to me to think that I did that with my dad. Like a lot of people, it's easy to think of doing that with your dad, your dad loves sports. I can't fathom doing that with my dad, but we did. We'd go watch Monday Night Football games together. And I remember games that he and I watched together, Monday Night Football. And I'm like, that's not my dad. He doesn't do that. So weird to think about that. But anyway, let me play a

couple commercials and we'll continue. But I think people are getting way too caught up in the NBA on NBC thing too, because like, for instance, Roundball Rock is going to be back. So basketball will be on NBC and too because like for instance Roundball Rock is going to be back so basketball will be on NBC and you'll get the bum bum bum bum bum bum bum. Here's the problem with that. They've tarnished that by using it for Fox Sports' coverage of like Big East basketball. They've ruined it by using it as a college basketball song. If that song had gone away forever and never been brought out of the vault until right now, that would kind of have a cool

vibe about it, right? It'd be like, wow, it's the NBA on NBC. And I don't know if you guys saw this, this was from last week. I'm a little bit behind on it, but they're taking the guy who was the voice guy of the NBA on NBC. So when you'd watch the big Michael Jordan intro, it's a Saturday afternoon or whatever, NBA on NBC. And you'd get that and there'd be Michael Jordan out of it. And then like the big graphic would drop and it's the NBA on NBC. Tonight, it's the Indiana Pacers versus the Chicago Bulls. That voice guy is dead. He is not alive anymore, but they have to he is unalived, but that gentleman's voice will be heard on the new NBA on NBC via artificial intelligence. So they are recreating this dude's voice via artificial intelligence. And like the

more I talk about it, the more I'm at least intrigued by it. But I think that people get caught up in trying to recreate shit from your youth and it just doesn't work. First of all that the last time that happened was 25 years ago. So the vast majority of the young people watching basketball don't have the same nostalgic reaction to that. They don't give a fuck. They don't give a shit about the NBA on NBC because they didn't live it. But it's, it's, I'm intrigued a little bit. I'm intrigued by the idea of what they can do with AI, how they're gonna make it look. My favorite thing about the NBA on NBC intro was right before it got into the the round ball rock. They would do this thing where like these like lasers

would create the peacock and they there the music underneath it was this ba-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- and you're like, shit, it's on now. Like one that I remember vividly as a kid that just was the greatest fucking day ever was the day that Jordan came back in 1995. And I just remember being glued to the TV, man. I'm like, holy shit, MJ is back. And as a kid and in an era where there just weren't a ton of channels, like everything was a big deal sports wise to me as a kid, like everything mattered.

And the whole world was locked in on Michael Jordan the greatest fucking athlete of all time man and you'd be sitting there and they showed Jordan coming into the arena and like after the whole intro is over like there's Jordan kind of warming up on the court and there's Bob Costas and MJ is fucking back and let's go and then he takes the last shot of the game because the game had to be close obviously against the Pazers it's a regular season game boom Jordan takes the last shot of the game because the game had to be close obviously against the Pazers. It's a regular season game. Boom, Jordan misses the last shot. But I vividly remember watching that and I vividly remember watching MJ's last championship and I remember where I was. I was at my dad's apartment in Baton Rouge because this would have been in 1998.

God, it was great. Now I'm kind of into it. I'm kind of into the idea. It's the same way like when they brought back Hank from Monday Night Football and I was all jacked up for that. But then they kind of ruined it by putting like some I think Jason Derulo or some shit was in and I'm like this is not the Monday Night Football theme song. That's not what this shit is. The fact they ever took it away was stupid. I also long for the Faith Hill version of the Sunday Night Football song.

Man, Faith Hill and her Prime in those intros, I mean spectacular. Prime Faith Hill is one of the most elite beauties of all time. If you get Faith Hill right around like the Breathe album, and then right around the time she starts doing Sunday Night Football, which I guess would have been in the early 2000s, like 2005 or 2006, when they started doing Sunday Night Football which I guess would have been in the early 2000s like 2005 or 2006 when they started doing Sunday Night Football and there's Faith Hill out there with her long ass fucking toned legs and a black dress and the blonde hair flowing everywhere and I'm like let's fucking go fuck you Hank Jr. we got Faith. Boy that was Prime Faith man then they kicked her to the curb because

she got too old they brought in Carrie Underwood. A friend of mine is obsessed with Carrie Underwood and I just don't quite get it, but whatever. But as far as sports intros go, the NBA on NBC and Monday Night Football with Hank Williams Jr., probably like 1990s Hank Jr. would be kind of the elite of the elite Monday Night Football intros. God, I just, I remember sitting there with my dad

and it's just shocking because my dad does not give a fuck about sports and it's shocking that he would ever take me to a bar to watch sports. I don't know how this ever happened, but you'd watch that big intro and welcome to the party, all my rowdy friends. Like all that type of shit are like, da-da-da-da-da-da-da.

Basically it's a battle between two intros, not a battle between two theme songs. So it because like the NHL on ESPN theme music is fucking spectacular. That's awesome shit, don't get me wrong. But as far as your straight up intros into a televised sporting event go? Old school Monday Night Football and the NBA on NBC. So if you go to like mid-90s Monday Night Football you get like the whole intro there's Frank Gifford or Al Michaels narrating like the highlight package with the old school Monday Night Football music playing the like underneath and like Frank Gifford will be like, you know, the Minnesota Vikings led by the ageless Randall Cunningham or blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Then there'll be like a quick cut of Randall Cunningham like, and look, we just got to win this football

game. And then like boom, there's a cutaway. But then there's the Kansas City Chiefs and Marty Schottenheimer needs a playoff win this year and he's led by Steve Bono And then like Steve Bono will say something and then like the two helmets will drop and then they'll clash into each other on ABC's Monday night football And like there's like lightning bolts and shit and then like the helmets will clash and then boom Hank comes in Well, it's Monday night and we're ready to rock and then boom Hank comes in. Bum-a-mum-a-mum-a-mum-a-mum-a-mum-a-mum-a-mum-a-mum. Me! Well, it's Monday night and we're ready to rock. Catch all the hits, the bangs and the blocks.

And then like all of a sudden then like it's cool cause they mentioned your fucking team in the intro. Like if your team is like the Vikings, but the Vikings and the Chiefs are about to throw down. You're like, fuck yeah they are, man. It's fucking going down bro. And then like then boom after like you know then all my rowdy friends are here for Monday night. And then an aerial shot of like

Arrowhead Stadium. Then there's Al Michaels or Frank Gifford. It's like Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, one of the toughest environments in the NFL and tonight the Chiefs who are desperate for a win take on the red hot Minnesota Vikings on ABC's Monday Night Football. I'm Frank Gifford, now Michaels and blah blah blah and like goddamn that's good shit. So it's either that or the NBA on NBC. That is that those are the two greatest sports intros that will ever exist. Ever. Boy, but the the NBA on NBC is great though. You get the **** peacock like the lasers, the different colored

lasers making the NBC peacock. cock. And like there's highlights. Like, oh, look, there's John Stockton making a shot. And then oh, shit, there's Michael Jordan. And they're all in this weird almost like comic looking thing, like a weird thing. And then it's the NBA on NBC. And that guy's coming back via AI. Now I've convinced myself that I'm excited about this. Look at me being a dipshit. Super excited about it, man. Can we get like AI, can we get Marv Albert to do it?

Can we get AI like 90s Marv Albert to do this? Can we get Tom Gugliotta? Wasn't Tom Gugliotta one of the guys on there? Or who was the other dude that ended up doing radio in San Francisco that was one of the analysts? Of course they also had, dude, here's what we need to do. We need to get AI Bill Walton to be on the call of these games. AI Bill Walton and Marv Albert. Like, fuck it, who needs actual announcers? Just

get AI people to fucking call the game. We're all in a robot war anyway. Let's fucking go. Alright, anyway, more to come.