Al Michaels shoots down return to basketball coverage after Amazon acquires NBA rights
We still don’t know quite how Amazon’s streaming of NBA games on Prime Video is going to look, but we do know Al Michaels isn’t going to be involved.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the legendary broadcaster shot down the possibility of a return to NBA coverage when Amazon begins airing games in 2025. Michaels currently works for the company as the voice of its “Thursday Night Football” NFL coverage.
Specifically, Michaels thinks Amazon should build a team it can use for several years rather than his 79-year-old self, whose contract is up at the end of the upcoming NFL season.
From the Times:
“I don’t think so. It’s a long-term thing for Amazon, and they should put a group together that can do this for a lot of years and build. I’m sure that’s what they’re going to do. I love doing the NBA but that was a long time ago and I’m happy just to spectate next year and beyond.”
Michaels also mentioned that two NBA owners told him the NBA was more comfortable selling its rights to Amazon because of the “Thursday Night Football” team’s work. And he endorsed his friend Greg Kinnear to play him in Amazon’s upcoming John Madden biopic.
Few broadcasters possess a breadth of experience like Michaels, who has been calling primetime NFL games for decades, handled the World Series for years and is responsible for perhaps the most iconic hockey call ever. He also worked NBA games for ABC from 2003 to 2005, but few consider him a legend for his work there.
The topic does inspire curiosity about the direction Amazon opts to go once its NBA deal goes into effect, much like the intrigue about its initial TNF team. In that case, the commerce giant spent big to poach a big name in Michaels from NBC, then landed on college football commentator Kirk Herbstreit to make a part-time jump to the pros.
Given that Amazon reportedly spent $1.8 billion on an 11-year contract with the NBA, it seems likely they will want to make a splash.
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