“Now, let’s meet the starting lineup for your Team NBC and Peacock…” The lights flash, music hits. And suddenly, the familiar rhythm of “Roundball Rock” echoes like a ghost from basketball’s past. But this isn’t the ’90s. It’s 2025, and thanks to Adam Silver, the NBA is finally home again.

On October 21, the NBA returns to NBC for the first time in over two decades, with a new media rights deal that reboots a legacy many fans thought was gone forever. Opening night features a must-watch doubleheader — reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder host Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets, followed by Stephen Curry and the Warriors visiting LeBron James and Luka Doncic’s new-look Lakers.

And behind the camera, NBC has assembled a Hall-of-Fame broadcast team with names that need no introduction. But they got one anyway, a starting lineup for Team NBC and Peacock, in a now-viral promo aired during Sunday Night Football. As Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stands on the hardwood, waiting to hear his name announced before tip-off, something’s off. Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony, Reggie Miller, Grant Hill, and Jamal Crawford are being introduced instead. Mike Tirico walks out. “That’s my team,” he says with a smirk. Shai, confused, looks to his teammates: “Are we supposed to play them?”

For a league that’s spent years chasing younger audiences and dwindling viewership numbers, this moment feels like a turning point. The NBA has been a streaming-era juggernaut in highlight culture, but that hasn’t translated to full-game engagement. With an 11-year, $77 billion deal now signed with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon, Adam Silver and the league have found their answer. It’s not shorter quarters or fewer games, but rather presentation, and NBC gets that.

The promotional rollout has been sharp, smart, and unmistakably nostalgic. NBC aired the crossover spot, featuring Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren being hilariously overshadowed by NBC’s new studio crew, during its NFL broadcast, the most-watched show on American television for 14 straight years. It was a deliberate move. As Joseph Lee, SVP of creative marketing at NBCUniversal, explained: “NBA player introductions have always played a big role in getting the arena crowd and the people watching at home excited for the game… It’s an entertaining way to both introduce the NBC Sports talent and spotlight some of the great young NBA players in the league.”

A broadcast problem finally addressed

The NBA has wrestled for years with a viewership conundrum. Regular season ratings fluctuated, younger fans drifted to highlight reels instead of full games, and the cable-first model began to feel outdated. In February, Adam Silver even floated the idea of shortening game time. Media figures like John Skipper pushed back, saying it wasn’t about the quarters or timeouts, it was about presentation. With NBC’s latest announcement, bringing NBA legends as analysts is exactly what fans have been asking for so long. When Mike Tirico stands beside Melo, Vince, T-Mac, and the rest and says, “That’s my team,” fans across the country will be thinking the same thing.

So, without a doubt, the online reaction to the news was immediate and emotional. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for coming back to save the NBA,” one fan wrote. NBC isn’t just bringing games. It’s bringing storytelling, studio shows, rivals, and redemption arcs. In a fragmented media landscape, this level of packaging matters. 

One netizen joked, “I can’t believe NBC hired Reggie Miller.” The vibe? Pure nostalgia, with a healthy shot of excitement.

Another kept it simple: “Niceee.” Now, with over 100 games, including exclusive playoff coverage and the All-Star Game, airing on NBC and Peacock, the league has re-centered its national platform. And for fans who once sat cross-legged in front of the TV waiting to hear Marv Albert or Bob Costas, the sound of “Roundball Rock” doesn’t just remind them of Jordan’s fadeaways. It reminds them of what it felt like when basketball mattered on television.

One fan commented, “NBA on NBC back after 20+ years with KD facing OKC in their ring ceremony. SGA vs Durant, Bron vs Steph. Plus Melo and VC in studio? NBC knows ball. October looking spicy.”

NBC’s return tackles that head-on. The schedule is clean and intentional. Mondays on Peacock. Tuesdays on NBC. Wednesdays and Fridays on ESPN. Thursdays and Saturdays on Prime Video. Sundays are split between NBC and ABC. It’s streamlined, focused, and curated for weekly habits,  something fans and advertisers can both rally around. This is more than a broadcast deal. It’s a restoration, for the first time since 2002, the NBA will open its season under NBC’s spotlight, complete with glossy promos, full-screen intros, and a lineup of analysts that can hold court as well as they once did on it.

Another fan simply wrote, “I AM SO EXCITED.”

Before the ball even tips, the storylines are red hot. Adam Silver will hand out championship rings to the Thunder, then watch alongside millions as Durant, once OKC’s franchise savior, stands courtside while the banner he couldn’t deliver finally goes up. Hours later, LeBron and Steph face off for the 56th time, with Luka, in viral shape and playing like a man with something to prove, right in the middle of it all.