Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith slated to cover NBA Finals on NBA TV
The “Inside the NBA” crew from TNT signed off on their final show of the season following the conclusion of the Eastern Conference finals. The coverage moves over exclusively to ESPN and ABC for The NBA Finals.
However, America's favorite NBA analysts can still be seen in another place. Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith are slated to provide pre and post game coverage of every Finals game on NBA TV.
Shaq and Chuck need to stop lying … I know they are so excited to join us on @NBATV for Games 1 & 2 of the NBA FINALS!! See you in Denver… or Boston! @NBAonTNT
The three will appear on NBA TV’s coverage on a rotation basis. It may be rare to see all three on a desk again until next season. Jared Greenberg is set to host the coverage on the network.
NBA TV is owned by the league but its broadcast operations are run by Warner Bros. Discovery which also owns TNT.
The guys will have to wait a little bit longer for their summer vacation. They sent the Boston Celtics “fishing” on their final show after the Celtics lost Game 7 but they will have to wait a little bit longer to join them on the summer fishing trip.
O’Neal and Barkley are scheduled to appear for the coverage of games 1 and 2 of the finals. The coverage is reported to take place on site from Denver.
The Inside guys have contributed on NBA TV in years past. They used the same rotation schedule in previous years and did not appear all together at once.
ESPN will also have its own pre and post game coverage. Its NBA crew has been heavily criticized in recent years.
A special @SHAQ episode on this week’s NBA Rookie Life with @TheRyanHollins...
And don’t forget to check out “Shaq: The Rookie Season" on NBA TV and the NBA App.
link.chtbl.com/nbarookielife https://t.co/ijDj2Ekfto
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg will host the coverage. He will be joined by commentators Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon and Jalen Rose. NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski will also contribute to the coverage.
NBA Finals Schedule
Here is the schedule for the 2023 NBA Finals. The series will operate on a 2-2-1-1-1 structure meaning Denver will host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7. Miami will host Games 3 and 4, and 6 if necessary.
• Game 1: Heat vs. Nuggets | Thurs., June 1 | 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
• Game 2: Heat vs. Nuggets | Sun., June 4 | 8 p.m. ET (ABC)
• Game 3: Nuggets vs. Heat | Wed., June 7 | 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
• Game 4: Nuggets vs. Heat | Fri., June 9 | 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
• Game 5: Heat vs. Nuggets | Mon., June 12 | 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC) *
• Game 6: Nuggets vs. Heat | Thurs., June 15 | 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC) *
• Game 7: Heat vs. Nuggets | Sun., June 18 | 8 p.m. ET (ABC) *
Denver is heavily favored in the series. They are -400 to win the championship. The Nuggets are also huge -8.5 point favorites at home in Game 1.