2017 NBA Finals Exclusively on ABC: Defending NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors

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2017 NBA Finals Exclusively on ABC: Defending NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors

  • Longest-tenured NBA Finals Broadcast Team to Call Historic Cleveland-Golden State Rubber Match: Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson & Doris Burke
  • NBA Countdown, The Jump, SportsCenter & First Take On Site Throughout the Series
  • ESPN3 Second-screen Digital Offerings during Pregame and Postgame
  • More Than 50 ESPN Commentators Contributing to NBA Finals Coverage

The 2017 NBA Finals – the defending NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James vs. the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant – tips off exclusively on ABC starting Thursday, June 1 at 9 p.m. ET. The longest-tenured NBA Finals broadcast team –  Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson and Doris Burke – entering their eighth NBA Finals together, will call the series. Officiating analyst Steve Javie will also provide his expertise. The team of producer Tim Corrigan and director Jimmy Moore will once again lead ESPN’s NBA Finals production.

This is the third consecutive NBA Finals between the Cavaliers and the Warriors, which is the first time in NBA history that two teams have collided three straight years for the NBA Championship. This is the 15th consecutive time ESPN has produced the NBA Finals on ABC. The NBA Finals will be available on ABC, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes and the ESPN App.

The 2017 NBA Finals will be available on ESPN Radio with the team of Marc Kestecher and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and analyst Hubie Brown and reporter Marc Stein describing the action. This is the 22nd season for ESPN Radio as the exclusive national radio broadcast home of the NBA Finals. Coverage will also include a pregame on-site studio show hosted by Kevin Winter with analyst Jon Barry.

ESPN NBA commentators have set records for the most individual NBA Finals broadcasts:

  • Hubie Brown, 16 NBA Finals, most ever for an analyst (television + radio combined);
  • Mike Breen, 12 NBA Finals, most ever for a play-by-play commentator (television);
  • Jeff Van Gundy, 11 NBA Finals, most ever for an analyst (television);
  • ESPN NBA analyst Mark Jackson will provide commentary for his ninth NBA Finals on ABCJackson has called more NBA Finals on television than any other African-American NBA analyst.

ESPN will utilize several different cameras for its NBA Finals on ABC presentation, including several robotic cameras, various point of view cameras, shot clock and hallway cameras and more. ESPN will also apply its mobile LED screen on-court during broadcast opens. The production open will feature Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar.

NBA Countdown & The Jump

ESPN will take NBA Countdown and The Jump – its two signature NBA shows – on the road for on-site programming throughout the series. NBA Countdown host Michelle Beadle, working her first NBA Finals, will be joined by veteran analyst Jalen Rose and two former NBA Finals MVPs – Chauncey Billups and guest analyst Paul Pierce – for pregame and halftime shows. NBA Countdown will start one hour before most games, with the first 30 minutes airing on ESPN and then 30 minutes airing on ABC leading into tipoff. Five-time NBA Champion Kobe Bryant will also unveil his latest short video presentation in his Canvas series during the pregame show.

The Jump, hosted by Rachel Nichols, will also travel for on-site shows throughout the NBA Finals, airing 3-4 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday. The Jump will emanate from Lake Chalet in Oakland, Calif. and from the Hofbrauhaus in Cleveland. Nichols will be joined by a superstar cast of commentators, including recently-named Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady, former NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce, Scottie Pippen, Brian Windhorst, Amin Elhassan, and more. The NBA Finals Preview presented by Kia, featuring The Jump’s commentators, will air Wednesday, May 31, on the eve of Game 1, at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

SportsCenter will also go on the road for the 2017 NBA Finals. Michael Smith and Jemele Hill will host SC6 live from Game 1. In addition, Sage Steele will anchor the pregame SportsCenter on site throughout the series and various ESPN commentators and reporters will provide updates each day including Michael Wilbon, Stephen A. Smith, Ramona Shelburne, Brian Windhorst, Sam Alipour, Dave McMenamin, Stefano Fusaro, Mark Schwarz and more. SportsCenter will also provide postgame coverage onsite with Stan Verrett and Neil Everett as well as a combination of John AndersonJohn Buccigross and Steve Levy. Scott Van Pelt will interview players following the games from ESPN studios in Bristol and will provide postgame analysis.

First Take: earlier this week, ESPN announced that First Take with Stephen A. Smith, Molly Qerim and Max Kellerman will be on site throughout the NBA Finals. First Take will add several prime-time specials to its lineup. For more information, please visit ESPN Media Zone.

ESPN3 will provide a second-screen digital offering to viewers during NBA Finals pregame coverage and postgame coverage, which will include a live look at pregame warmups, including layup lines, and natural sound from the arena prior to the game. Additionally, ESPN3 will carry postgame press conferences and exclusive postgame shows featuring several top commentators.

ESPN International: the NBA Finals will air across ESPN international platforms in the following markets in Latin America, Brazil, the Caribbean and the Pacific Rim.

NBA Finals on ABC, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes & ESPN App:

Date Time (ET) Game
Thu, June 1 9 p.m. Game 1: Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors
Sun, June 4 8 p.m. Game 2: Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors
Wed, June 7 9 p.m. Game 3: Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers
Fri, June 9 9 p.m. Game 4: Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers
Mon, June 12 9 p.m. *Game 5: Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors
Thu, June 15 9 p.m. *Game 6: Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers
Sun, June 18 8 p.m. *Game 7: Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors

*if necessary

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Media contacts: Ben Cafardo at 860-766-3496 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @Ben_ESPN;

Gianina Thompson at 860-766-7022 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @Gianina_ESPN.

Ben Cafardo

I lead communications strategy and execution for ESPN’s NBA, MLB, FIBA and Little League World Series properties. I’m also a proud consumer of all things ESPN.
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