The CBS era was the golden of basketball on the court and the silver era of basketball on television. The NBC era was the silver era of basketball on the court and the golden era of basketball on television. The soul of the NBA died the night the NBC era ended.
Well said. Apparently nbc is going to try again in 2024. I’m not so sure it’s the station as it is the broadcast crews. I’m sure nbc or cbs can bring back their promos etc but you can’t bring back Dick Stockton or Marv Alberts of the world
The NBC era was the David Stern fixed era. The game outcomes became obviously influenced by the league and that continued into the beginning of the ABC era.
@@sillygoose635 Commentators should stick to the game instead of talking things not relevant to their coverage. They always chat about players who were no longer playing in that round or the latest "drama" scoop of certain players
And Kevin Harlan as well. And as for Craig Sager, Ahmad Rashad, David Aldridge, Doris Burke and Jim Gray, they are the best NBA sideline reporters ever, although Sager has been battling cancer for two years now.
budkin He sucks and always has sucked! Every 1980s shot he called was substituted with the local radio voice (Johnny Most (Boston), Chick Hearn (Los Angeles Lakers), and others) because he was a boring, lifeless stiff!!! The NBA is a sport with ACTION!!! If you wanted Dick to find his place, his ass in a golf course would have been more than appropriate!! Fuck Dick!!! He's not even the best Dick announcer ever. Stockton 8 million light years behind Dick Enberg and anyone who sucks up to Dick Stockton can wave goodbye to their sex life!!! Dick Stockton = One-Minute Man! As Missy Elliott once sung 🎵Break me off, show me what you got🎵 🎵Cause I don't want, no one minute man🎵
From Dick Stockton (CBS) to Marv Albert (NBC). From "Basket Counts and the Foul" to "YES!! And It Counts!" From Verne Lundquist (CBS) to the late Dick Enberg (NBC). From Pat O'Brien (CBS) to Bob Costas (NBC). From "The Basketball Show" to "NBA Showtime".
MJ and Bulls played weak ass competition. Wouldn't have stood a chance against showtime Lakers with Kareem, Birds Celtics, Moses Malone, Dr.J and Barkleys 76ers and Jazz with Mark Eaton.
@@billthegoatrussell6608 Don't forget the choke job by LeCry Blames in the 2011 Finals against the Mavs 😂 lol LeBitch won't and neither will Jason Terry!
ABC/ESPN didn't exactly inherit a great situation when it first took over the nba from NBC in 2002. Read the final season of NBA on NBC. It will tell you all you need to know.
It was a joy watching the NBA on CBS. And the greatest collection of talent to ever play the game. But you know what? The 90's were great as well. And NBC did a great job of covering the NBA. The Admiral, Sir Charles, Shaq, The Mailman, the return of Magic, Hakeem, and of course, Jordan and DA BULLSSS!
The biggest mistake CBS ever made! They missed the whole Jordan ride, and imagine what their ratings would've been for their biggest shows with the Jordan NBA leading it in? The loss of the NBA forshadowed the loss of the NFC package, and we know that hurt....Big Time!
@@manuginobilisbaldspot424 and overpaid for the rights to the Winter Olympics which with the exception of the 1994 Games in Lilihammer with the Harding/Kerrigan drama did not draw very good ratings. In fact for 1992 and 1998 Winter Games the ratings were much better on cable via Turner Sports than they were on CBS. This was the primary reason the IOC went with NBC to cover both the Summer and Winter Games ever since.
@@manuginobilisbaldspot424 And really CBS Sports hasn’t really been right since losing the NFL the first time. Yes they got it back but it’s not the same.
Pat Summerall called the first season for the NBA on CBS and he also called a few NCCA games for CBS in the mid-80s. He said Basketball was his favorite sport. He truly was a talented man. Rest In Peace ❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
Summerall was my favorite national play by play announcer. He was unbiased, witty, and versatile. He was awesome at doing the PGA Tour as well. You knew when Summerall was the announcer for a sporting event, it was big time.
I may have been a baby when CBS last aired NBA games, but I'd rather watch it on there or NBC, rather than the greedy clowns of ESPN/ABC Sports. CBS and NBC did a terrific job in airing games and their coverage was top notch. Did CBS air Lakers, Celtics and Sixers almost all the time? YES. Did NBC have a love-fest Jordan and the Bulls' all the time? YES. Every network had it's faults airing the NBA, but CBS and NBC were LEGENDARY. ESPN/ABC is a joke.
The two networks are going to have a love fest with the dominant teams of their respective eras. The Bulls first trip to the finals would've been that year, if they'd been able to win a game at the Palace, since they won all 3 games of that ECF series against the Pistons in Chicago. But they still weren't quite good enough to beat the bad boys that year, which would change the next year, when NBC picked up right where CBS left off.
@@brianmears3388 In those years, though CBS was running many playoff games on tape delay after the late newscasts even in the finals. NBC was a step up with a commitment to prime time finals coverage, the Christmas games, etc. Plus "Roundball Rock" and Costas.
Dick Stockton, Tom Heinsohn, Brent Musberger, Pat O'Brien, Bill Russell, Rick Barry, Hubie Brown. Billy Cunningham. So many good games called by these guys. Their voices are still familiar to me. I will listen to a game sometimes at night and it relaxes me.
The end of an era. Curtain closes on the NBA ON CBS for the last time. Watching all those games on CBS was a family tradition during my childhood years. Just watching and listening to the legendary duo of Dick Stockton and Hubie Brown announcing and commenting on those games made watching the NBA ON CBS more exciting. Of all the games I've watched over all these years in my life, Dick Stockton will forever be known as Mr. NBA for his distinctive familiar sounding voice that made watching those games on CBS so fun.
I never knew that, interesting fact. VH1 was great before they sold out to reality TV- not only great videos but "Behind the Music" and specials like Shatner doing the 100 greatest One-hit Wonders were fun to watch, also.
Maybe in 2024 when the current NBA TV contracts are up with Turner and ESPN and can be bid on. CBS has reemerged in recent years as a significant player due to acquiring the rights to soccer's UEFA Champions League and are actively bidding for the US rights to the English Premier League which is one of the biggest sports leagues globally when their contract runs out with NBC in 2022. This is in addition to keeping the NFL, PGA Tour and NCAA March Madness although they will be losing SEC football in 2023.
That was sad when CBS lost the NBA package to NBC, CBS"s coverage was great so were the announcers. But it signaled a change when the 90's came in as professional sports leagues were changing television contracts. MLB moved to CBS that year from NBC, The NBA went too NBC that following season. The NFL moved to FOX in '94 from CBS. Baseball came back to NBC in "96 for a few seasons, Fox also signed on with baseball. The NFL returned too CBS in 98 but left NBC without the NFL. The NHL was jumping from network to network. Some decade that was in pro sports.
You are totally right about the NHL in the 1990's. They started the decade on SportsChannel America which was an absolute failure because large portions of the country couldn't see games. The only way you could watch the NHL without a cable subscription or even with one in many cases in the early 1990's was to watch the NHL All Star Game on NBC or live in an area that had access to CBC & Hockey Night in Canada. Then from 1993-1995 ESPN had exclusive rights and then in 1995 FOX joined them for 4 years until 1999, when ESPN regained exclusive rights and put games on ABC. ESPN then lost the rights during the 2004-2005 lockout & NBC got the exclusive rights from 2006-2021. Now the NHL is back on ESPN/ABC & TNT gets the rights to the NHL for the first time.
As a baseball Yankee fan, CBS was decent for baseball but Fox is better obviously. Joe Buck era and the current one with Arod, Jeter, Ortiz, etc. NBC sucked for MLB. But NBC was better for NBA. MLB better for Fox
I think what also may have driven the NBA away from CBS was CBS spending a lot of money (and perhaps in hindsight, overpaying) to land Major League Baseball away from NBC & ABC (beginning in 1990) and (to a lesser extent) all of the Winter Olympics of the '90s.
Terrence Clay The NBA’s popularity was skyrocketing in the late 80’s and David Stern wanted more exposure which means he wanted more than 15 games a year shown on network television and CBS didn’t have the room to broadcast double and triple headers every Sunday like NBC could because of their NFL and college basketball coverage and they signed deals with baseball and the Winter Olympics making it even more difficult to accommodate the NBA’s request for more over the air telecasts so they were prettymuch destined to cut ties with the NBA
Yep..the decision to move to NBC was made at the end of 1989. By the 1990 NBA all star game, the announcers(Dick Stockton included) were already announcing the move. I first found out through ESPN at the end of '89. Before game 5 of the finals began, Dick Stockton announced if the Pistons won(they were up 3-1), the NBA on CBS would be over.
I would love for CBS and Turner Sports to team up on the NBA like they have done w/ March Madness. They could also put some games on CBS Sports Net to bolster its line-up/credibility.
And I would also like Tracy Wolfson and Allie LaForce to share sideline reporting duties like they did for NCAA March Madness and Super Bowl 50! After all, The Wolf and Allie are the best thing to ever hit CBS!
They might be teaming up to do UEFA Champions League matches when CBS begins their 4 year deal next season because UEFA has insisted that between 40-50% of Champions League matches need to be on TV. This puts constraints on CBS's ambitions to put matches on their subscription streaming platform All Access. Turner with TBS, TNT and TruTV would be able to help CBS fulfill this requirement.
From Dan Robertson (voice of CBS Sports from 1974-1993) to Mitch Phillips (later the late Jim Fagan from 1991-2002 also the original voice of NBA Action from 1991-2004) (voice of NBC Sports from late 1970s until 1993).
From a personell standpoint, CBS might be better equipped for the NBA, especially now that Marv Albert is aboard. Its weird because CBS was rumored, in 1987 to be pursuing Marv Albert. Never happened though.
To anyone who EVER watched NBA on CBS you got to see MANY MANY MANY CAREERS Drj George gervin Larry bird Magic Kareem Wes unseld Oscar robertson Rick barry Bill walton Dennis johnson Moses malone Michael jordan with hair Isiah thomas Among others this was the ending of many of those players careers Isiah retired in 94 moses in 95 drj in 87 unseld in 81 magic on 91 bird in 92 michael jordan in 93,99,2003 among others.
If Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery tie the knot, maybe we will get the NBA on CBS back. CBS coverage might be limited during the regular season due to other commitments, but they should be able to ramp it up after The Masters in April.
Actually depending on whom you ask, the NBA's best era if you will began in 1984 with the first of three Finals involving Larry Bird's Celtics and Magic Johnson's Lakers. Bird and Magic are generally credited for revitalizing the NBA (it wasn't that long before that CBS didn't have a problem broadcasting the Finals on tape delay after the late local news) in the '80s.
ABC's coverage doesn't seem as majestic, focused, or classy as the later CBS years or NBC's. They seem more or less, like ESPN buying time on their sister network (via Disney) since the TV contract required at least 15 regular season slots and the NBA Finals on broadcast network TV. If ESPN had it their way, they would want all of the games on there.
From midnight replays of the final game of the championship in 81 and 82 to number one in the ratings in 84. million dollar tv contracts to billion dollar good jib cbs!!!!
Bro you commented on here 10 times, and 9 of them were about how it “should have been CBS’s 47th year”. We got it, thanks. Go sit down dude, you’re ruining the comment section.
@@tigernike23 , Why is this freaking freak commenting so many times? Doesn’t he have a freaking life to live ! On a lazy Saturday afternoon, I am looking for Lakers news ! I can’t believe,that the Lakers’ front office dismantled a very defensive-minded championship team (Javale McGee,Carusso, KCP, Khuzma, Dwight Howard, etc…),for a team made up of old players,that were way,way,way past their primes (Carmelo,Ariza , Westbrick, etc…). I can’t believe ,that these people get paid handsomely,only to dismantle Championship-caliber teams !
@@jaliscodiss 1990's basketball was very low scoring and expansion diminished talent. Low point for NBA. 84-83 final score of NBA was just sad. 69 point games 77 point games....just ridiculous.
At the time my beloved Blazers had just been booted in 5 games by Detroit so I never really saw this before. Sports still had a purity even then that is now gone forever.
When TNT came around at the end of 1988, you had more competition chipping away at the NBA on CBS. Not to mention TBS was still carrying games. CBS got caught in a squeeze. From the beginning(1973-74), they didnt start televising every Sunday until after the X-Mas game. During the tape delayed era(pre Bird-Magic)they would televise a few FRI night early season games tape delay, then in the new year is when weekly coverage started. When Bird and Magic came in, it still took a few years for the public to "catch on" or "come back"(1980-81, Bird-Magic's 2nd yr, NBA ratings were at an all time low). The NBA finally picked up steam again in the 81-82 season, especially the playoffs, none of the '82 finals games were tape delayed(i know, because i watched every game). By the time Michael Jordan came to the league(1984-85), CBS started carrying the NCAA and the tournament, the original NBA on ESPN was around, the USA network and TBS were televising NBA games, so if you had cable(like my family did), CBS was on the back burner(at least during the week). I remember during timeouts of the CBS telecast, there would be commercials for the CBS Sports Spectacular and in the later years, they would go over to the major golf tournaments(for a few minutes) so it looked like CBS had too much on it's plate, not to mention the MLB contract, which turned out to be a disaster.
elwin38 USA only carried a few NBA games during the mid 80’s as their main sports were the NHL until ESPN took over the US rights in 1986 and MLB until ESPN created SNB in 1987
I think that also CBS couldn't provide as much coverage of the league as the NBA wanted, particularly in the winter and the spring. At that time CBS also had all of the NCAA Tournament and pretty much all of the big golf tournaments.
Anybody know what the main music in the video is? (I mean, the song before Marvin Gaye's National Anthem; It sounds like something from "The Godfather" trilogy.)
CBS aired tape delayed NBA Finals games at 11:30 p.m. EDT until the last few years of their contract. Lol. Could you imagine that today? Also morning on the west coast NBA Finals games on some weekends.
Randy Dubin I think somebody has already written it in the comments. It's the song "The Last Waltz" from "The Band" wich appears in the great Scorsese documentary about "The Band". The documentary is also titled "The Last Waltz". On RU-vid you should find the song, if you search for The Last Waltz ending/outro, but also look for other clips from the documentary. It's worth it.
