1. TNT finished its 36-year run of airing NBA games on Saturday with the Indiana Pacers closing out the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
While so much—basically all—the focus has been on Inside the NBA, we’ve all dropped the ball in talking about the network’s coverage of the actual games.
This is especially true when you remember that Inside the NBA will continue next season on ESPN while still being produced by TNT.
After Indiana’s win on Saturday, Kevin Harlan did a half-narration, half-monologue tribute to TNT’s NBA coverage over the years with a look back at a lot of the people who called games.
The greatest NBA announcer of all time, Marv Albert, had a run with TNT. Mike Breen, who is about to call his 20th straight NBA Finals, worked at TNT from 2002 to '04. Dick Stockton, who had a 50-plus year run in sports broadcasting, was a longtime TNT employee. Other notable people who worked games for TNT during its long partnership with the NBA: Hubie Brown, Doug Collins, Chuck Daly, Steve Kerr and Jeff Van Gundy. And, of course, Craig Sager worked the sidelines for 26 seasons. (Make sure you check out this tribute Sager’s wife posted on Instagram after TNT wrapped up its NBA coverage.)
In addition to those A-listers, there were plenty of other fan favorites and notable names in the package.
It was one of those fun montages that made you say, “Oh, wow, I forgot about him” several times as pictures came across the screen.
Reggie Miller also had some moving words for Harlan.
If you missed the five-minute tribute on Saturday, it is absolutely worth your time today. The producers of the segment and the video, along with Harlan, could not have done a better job with the send-off.
Kevin Harlan, @ReggieMillerTNT, Stan Van Gundy and @ALaForce sign off from #NBAonTNT for the last time ❤️ pic.twitter.com/d68HtuyWYT
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 1, 2025
2. Ernie Johnson also provided an emotional and heartfelt goodbye to TNT, even though he will continue alongside Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaq next season.
"Thanks for watching us. It's been the NBA on TNT." pic.twitter.com/6OulhnyL49
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 1, 2025
Since we haven’t gotten an official word on EXACTLY what the Inside the NBA/ESPN partnership will be, many people are convinced the show will not be the same. Among them is Bill Simmons.
"I think ESPN is gonna f--- this show up."@BillSimmons explains why he's not optimistic about the future of 'Inside the NBA.' pic.twitter.com/R9zuJvrJoK
— The Ringer (@ringer) June 1, 2025
3. It’s such a shame that Curb Your Enthusiasm has ended because an episode based on notable Jets fan Larry David attending the wedding of Bills quarterback, Josh Allen, would be gold.
For those of you wondering why Larry would be at Allen’s wedding to actress Hailee Steinfeld, it appears Larry is a family friend. This People.com article says that Steinfeld’s father, Peter, was Larry’s personal trainer.
A Curb episode where Larry accidentally attends the Steinfeld wedding because he thought it was a Seinfeld wedding would’ve been a layup.
Larry David makes surprise appearance at Josh Allen and Hailee Steinfeld wedding https://t.co/1vZ4bjiBzV pic.twitter.com/pHbYSvNmLG
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 1, 2025
4. The full trailer for Happy Gilmore 2 is here.
Here we go pic.twitter.com/bo9OA5Yc3F
— Adam Sandler (@AdamSandler) June 1, 2025
5. This was all over social media on Sunday, but in case you missed, I’m posting it since it’s so good.
Since May 4th, Scottie Scheffler has the same amount of wins as the Colorado Rockies have 😱#MLB | #PGA pic.twitter.com/K2T3hFfAhz
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) June 1, 2025
6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast dropped Thursday morning. This week’s guest is The Athletic’s media reporter/columnist Andrew Marchand.
Topics discussed on the podcast: What does ESPN’s direct-to-consumer product mean for ESPN+?; who has done the better job hiring NBA talent for next season, NBC or Amazon?; Reggie Miller’s work calling Knicks-Pacers; how will Inside the NBA look on ESPN?; how will Caitlin Clark’s two-week absence due to injury affect Fever ratings?; NFL schedule release; Pablo Torre’s reporting on the Bill Belichick/girlfriend soap opera and much more.
Following Marchand, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss the Knicks-Pacers series, an old 30 for 30 episode that I recently watched, Ben Stiller vs. Pat McAfee and the best Stiller movies.
You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 70th birthday to one of Saturday Night Live’s all-time great cast members, Dana Carvey.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as TNT’s Tribute To Its NBA Game Coverage Was Phenomenal.
