The NBA on NBC was a legendary era in league history. Let’s take a look back at the day it all began.
The NBA on NBC was pivotal part of the NBA’s growth in the 1990’s and very early 2000’s. The memory of hoops on the Peacock network is a soft spot in the nostalgic heart of any basketball fan of a certain age. As a 90’s baby myself, I have wondered over the years how the premiere broadcast looked and sounded, but for a long time it wasn’t available online.
Thankfully, the YouTube channel 1980s Sports Home finally uploaded the video of NBC’s first game on February 18, 2021. As soon as I came across it, I was overly excited to finally check it out.
The inaugural broadcast of the NBA on NBC aired on November 3, 1990. It featured the Los Angeles Lakers at the San Antonio Spurs from the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio, Texas. Marv Albert and Mike Fratello called the game, with Steve Jones on the sidelines. Bob Costas and Pat Riley — who had just resigned from the Los Angeles Lakers five months before the broadcast — were in the studio, with an additional roundtable segment featuring former player and executive Bob Ferry and columnist Peter Vescey.
The Broadcast
Overall, it was a strong broadcast, especially for it to be NBC’s first one since 1962. It perfectly set the tone of what the next 12 years would be for the NBA. “Roundball Rock” was the theme song that tipped off the telecast, and would be until the very last broadcast in 2002. Another constant of NBC games were the camera shots and sound mixing that looked to emphasize the energy of the arena. It was especially live in this game, and I feel it really helps the viewer get into the matchup.
Marv was incredibly sharp calling this game, which is an unfortunate contrast to his constant foibles on the mic in 2021 for the NBA on TNT. Mike Fratello, who had just resigned from coaching the Atlanta Hawks six months prior, was insightful with his analysis, as he still is in 2021 as a part-time analyst for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Bob and Pat in the studio were also good. Their chemistry came off to me as if they liked each other well enough and wanted to make things work, but they just had different personalities. So it wasn’t like they were best buddies finishing each other’s sentences, but the banter was still pretty solid.
One thing I noticed was how casually and openly Riley and Fratello discussed their previous jobs. Costas and Riley joked about it plenty in the studio, while Marv asked Mike directly during the broadcast about how it feels when a team starts tuning out the coach. Both were perfectly self-aware and not defensive at all when the subject was breached. I’m surprised, but I appreciate that from them.
The Game
As for the game itself, it was the 1990-91 season opener for both teams. The Lakers were beginning a new era under head coach Mike Dunleavy. Coming off of the Showtime Era under Pat Riley, the narrative was that the Lakers were now going to play at a slower tempo with more set plays in contrast to the run-and-gun style of before.
The Spurs entered this game as the reigning Midwest Division champions. They had a “We Want it Now” slogan to show how serious they were about winning a title and becoming a team of the 90’s. As we know, the team would have to wait until 1999 to acquire their first title. Instead, they were the team of the 2000’s, winning championships in 2003, 2005, and 2007.
San Antonio was also hampered by some key injuries. The projected starting backcourt of Rod Strickland and Willie Anderson were both out of this game due to leg injuries. Paul Pressey replaced Strickland at point guard, Sean Elliott moved from small forward to shooting guard in place of Anderson, and David Greenwood started at the 3 for Elliott.
However, that didn’t stop the Spurs from earning a decisive 110-99 victory. Terry Cummings led the way with 31 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. David Robinson, who made the first basket in NBA on NBC history, finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists, six blocks(!!), and three steals. Sean Elliott added 20 points to the winning cause. James Worthy paced Los Angeles with 35 points.
Hall of Famer Magic Johnson also played, going 44 minutes and finishing with 14 points and 11 assists. Despite that stat line, it was a very rough afternoon for him. Johnson also went 3-of-10 from the field, had six turnovers, four fouls, and felt the brunt of San Antonio’s physicality throughout the game.
Despite the final margin, it was the Lakers that got off to the hot start. They outscored the Spurs 38-24 in the first quarter, led by Worthy’s 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting. San Antonio pushed back in the second, though, closing the gap to 60-54 by halftime.
The tide truly turned in the third quarter, when the Spurs unleashed a 20-0 run on the Lakers. LA went 0-of-9 during the drought, and the Spurs were getting out in transition off of misses and also finding ways to get into the paint in the halfcourt. SA allowed just 13 points in the period.
The Spurs mostly had control from there, but the Lakers did attempt to make a final push in the fourth when their shots started falling again. However, Terry Cummings led the charge to finally cancel the Lake Show and secure the victory. Cummings scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, and had 23 for the entire second half.
This season-opening loss showed that the Lakers still had some adjusting to do to Dunleavy’s new offense. It was intriguing seeing a team outrun the Lakers after almost a decade of “Showtime” basketball. In the quest to be more deliberate, halfcourt sets often stagnated. Spurs coach Larry Brown made sure to protect the paint, willing to concede jump shots instead of having his players play tight on the perimeter and get beat off the dribble.
Early on, the Lakers were able to burn San Antonio’s strategy by knocking down shots from outside the paint, including their first three 3-point attempts. However, when the shooting touch went cold in the following quarters, the Spurs were able to rebound and control the tempo. LA finished the game shooting 46.1 percent from the field, 5-of-16 from beyond the arc.
Additionally, the Lakers bigs struggled to compete with Robinson and Cummings in this game. Starting center Vlade Divac was played off the court, logging only eight minutes. Rookie Elden Campbell looked lost out there. Mychal Thompson — capping off his final NBA season — was invisible, logging a single field goal and two fouls in 14 minutes.
The only consistent center they had was Sam Perkins, who scored 22 points off the bench, including two 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. However, with the Spurs essentially starting two powers forward and a center, and the shortest player that played for San Antonio in this game being 6’5″, the Lakers needed a bit more presence up front than what they offered.
One final note: this game marks the second appearance of Sidney Green in this Throwback Thursday column. We last saw him in the premiere post as the starting center for the 1987 Detroit Pistons. In this game, he came off the bench for the Spurs. Unfortunately, he had an atrocious game this time around. Green played 17 minutes, finishing scoreless on 0-of-9 shooting with four turnovers.
The NBA on NBC was a huge part of my life as well as the lives of many other NBA fans. I’m so grateful that I finally had the opportunity to see how it all began. Major thanks to 1980s Sports Home for providing this awesome piece of history.
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