Throwback Tuesday on NBC!!!
Let’s take it back to the 1990s. Old-school graphics! Bob Costas, Doug Collins, Mike Fratello and Hannah Storm!
Nothing wrong with that. The legends deserve their shine, right? Don’t we all like to relive the glory days?
This should have been something I couldn’t wait to watch. I’m somewhat old-school in a few ways. I love my throwback jerseys. I own so many jerseys from my youth I’ve lost count. I snatch up retro sneakers whenever possible. Nostalgia is a big part of what I enjoy.
That doesn’t mean I’m stuck in a world of pagers, phone books and portable CD players.
Ultimately, I watch the games if they’re going to be good or there’s some intrigue. I wouldn’t have tuned in to San Antonio’s 131-91 rout of shorthanded Philadelphia if I hadn’t been tasked to check in on the retro broadcast.
The novelty of hearing the old broadcasters couldn’t keep me interested in the game. And when it comes to the games overall, I care about 2026.
Even someone who grew up in the 1990s and still listens to his ’90s music can take only so much of old basketball being highlighted during a game in 2026.
I understand the fascination with the old NBC on some level and why many fans were happy to see the network airing games. Those were some great times. Michael Jordan’s two three-peats. The Lakers’ three-peat.
NBC aired some classic moments in NBA history. But the NBA didn’t cease to exist when the league stopped airing games in 2002, and a game only needs so many flashbacks.
There’s only so much nostalgia I want from NBC well past the midway point of the season. The network already got over on us once with nostalgia when it’s announcement of Jordan as a contributor to its coverage this season turned out to be the network microdosing one interview over a few weeks.
Bringing back Costas and company for some games? Fine. Using the old graphics? No biggie. I even get a kick out of that when playing NBA 2K26 and seeing old-school presentations.
I’m not even against flashbacks to the old days occasionally. It just felt excessive during the Spurs-Sixers. In a game that featured Victor Wembanyama, Tyrese Maxey, De’Aaron Fox and other emerging stars, I wasn’t clamoring for highlights of Shawn Kemp against Vlade Divac.
There is so much to like about today’s NBA, but too often in basketball we pretend everyone enjoyed watching teams score 80 points over four quarters. Yes, there were great moments, but the evolution of the game has been great and should be celebrated.
Old-school graphics are great. I wouldn’t be mad if the teams playing always wore uniforms from the ’90s on these nights, either.
But if we’re going to have throwback nights, let’s not get so stuck on the past when none of the league’s players ever played on NBC before this season — and many weren’t even born the last time the NBA was on NBC.