Finding someone who genuinely enjoys the current iteration of the NBA All-Star game is a challenge—even within TNT Sports, the network set to broadcast it this Sunday. Announcer Brian Anderson, who is calling the league’s new mini-tournament format, struggled to hide his lack of enthusiasm for the event, stating, “There’s a piece of (it) that is nostalgic, and I love the league,” as he remarked on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast. “But I don’t love the All-Star game as it’s been. It’s not the game that I grew up on, listening to Marv Albert.”
If you want a sense of TNT’s sentiment towards the event in its last year hosting before its NBA rights expire this fall, consider this: Anderson is calling the game for the third consecutive year amidst dwindling viewership. The event recorded a new low in 2024, prompting Commissioner Adam Silver to call out players on-court postgame for their lack of effort. Anderson, who is typically recognized for baseball as TNT’s No. 3 NBA announcer, illustrates how the network feels about the event by stepping up to call the game.
“I have not been a part of it to be so nostalgic about it,” Anderson confessed. “On my list of things that I love doing, it’s down the list, but I do enjoy doing it.” Within the network, the event has apparently become a source of humor. Anderson revealed that talent and producers at TNT are poking fun at game analyst Reggie Miller, telling him that from now on, the All-Star game will be his problem. This fall, Miller is moving to NBC, where he will be broadcasting the All-Star game as part of the new NBA rights package.
This change raises the question of whether NBC will let the event sink further into irrelevance or if they will press the league for improvements. Does NBC truly wish to allocate resources to what has turned into a laughingstock over the next decade or so? If Anderson’s perspective is anything to go by, it seems that discontent may soon wear thin.
