What is the one thing we learned from ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ and the success of the ‘Oblivion Remastered’ game? It is the nostalgia factor that is a strong force. Old really is gold, and people would come out in tenfold to experience something they grew up watching in the modern era. NBC realized this. Therefore, with a portion of the NBA’s media rights going to them as part of a new 11-year, $76 billion deal with the league, the network is bringing in some old faces, voices, and theme songs as part of their upcoming season coverage, and people couldn’t be more excited.

Former NBA player Vince Carter was announced, back in May, as a studio analyst for NBC Sports’ NBA coverage. He discussed his upcoming role during an episode of ‘Basketball, Branding, and Brotherhood with D’Angelo Russell & Vince Carter’, which was shot right at the Fanatics Fest held back in June.

When discussing what fans can expect from the coverage, he said, “They’re up and coming, doing some great things, and bringing that nostalgia, bringing that old thing back. Like, what we came into the league doing is that making you feel good and loving basketball when you watching, you smile before the game start like, ‘Yeah, about to watch some good basketball.’ Doing…. calling games for the Nets, as you know, and still doing some Raptors”.

NBC is certainly taking some major steps to invoke that nostalgia factor. The ‘NBA on NBC’ show, which will return after a 23-year hiatus, will officially be bringing back John Tesh’s iconic “Roundball Rock” song. For NBA fans, it is the equivalent of hearing the theme song of Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’ non-stop.

In accordance with the return to the 90s, the network also sent basketball fans into excitement mode after revealing that it will bring in Michael Jordan to be part of the NBA coverage.

It wasn’t made clear exactly how much the Chicago Bulls legend will be involved on air. However, his designation of a “special contributor” means he will be used almost, or less, on the same level as Fox Sports used NFL legend Tom Brady weekly. Being a billionaire and one of the most famous names in the NBA world, we know Jordan will be charging a lot.

If that isn’t enough, NBC is even taking some risks by diving into the AI verse. According to reports, the network will be using Artificial Intelligence to revive Jim Fagan’s NBA Voice! While the other things will excite fans, it remains to be seen how they will react to this!

All in all, NBC is bringing in something new to NBA coverage by, ironically, relying on something old. It will certainly be a stark contrast from how the ‘Inside the NBA’ crew handled things for the last 2 decades. However, to be different from your predecessors, you can’t simply have one contrasting thing. Vince Carter knows this and was willing to point out another way ‘NBA on NBC’ would stand out.

Vince Carter Reveals Desire to Cover Games From Player’s POV: “That’s what that reality….”

The crew of TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’, consisting of Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson, made NBA coverage a memorable art. The chemistry of the crew itself made the show a memorable watch, with Shaq playing pranks on his co-hosts, and each of them taking jibes at the other from time to time. Despite that, the one thing that the crew did not do was hold back on their negative stances on players. From Charles Barkley criticizing Luka Doncic’s weight and defensive skills by saying “Luka can’t guard a chair”, to saying that “today’s players are such wussies”, they made it easier for fans to have a negative stance towards the athletes. Vince Carter looks to do things differently.

During the same discussion at the Fanatics Fest, the former player added to his previous remarks by saying, “I want people to understand that. Like, you know, the everyday fan, I want y’all to understand. Just because you look at the end of that bench, and you see that guy that doesn’t play…. No, he will kill you. He’ll bust your a-s. That is a fact. Because you got to think these guys this thing that guy on the end of the bench is not playing has played against this man, has played against this man, this man every day. You go in your front yard, you go into a gym, you’re like, ‘Oh man, no, I’m doing this.’”

In other words, Carter realizes that the true prowess of a player isn’t shown that well on TV. When we see a turnover, we don’t fully comprehend the defense that the player was put under. When we see a missed 3-pointer, we don’t completely see the effort a player had to take to get to that position, and then take the shot. By criticizing them, the ‘Inside the NBA’ crew allegedly made public opinion about the players only worse. Even though 3 out of 4 of them were former players. The 8x NBA All-Star wants to put the ‘reality’ on display.

“And then you’ll if you ever watch TV, here you go. You ever watch TV, and you watch the game, you’re like, ‘Dang, he nice.’ But then when you go to the game, it’s a little different. Oh, he bigger, faster, stronger, jump a little higher. That’s what that reality when you stand in front of one of these dudes” Carter added.

All of Vince Carter’s remarks only raised expectations for what NBC Sports will be bringing for fans for the upcoming season. Whether the coverage lives up to the hype, however, is something that remains to be seen.