Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Like everyone else, Sixers announcer Alaa Abdelnaby was shocked when news broke LeBron James<\/a> was coming to Philadelphia. <\/p>\n Now he\u2019s settling into the reality of calling games featuring the future Hall of Famer, who passed up a return to Cleveland to sign a two-year deal with the Sixers.<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it was a farewell swan song he was looking for,\u201d Abdelnaby said. \u201cHe\u2019s still looking to win.\u201d <\/p>\n It\u2019s a wild swing for Abdelnaby, who is entering his 11th season calling Sixers games. His was hired in the middle of \u201cThe Process\u201d and Philly lost 72 games during his first season as a color analyst. Now the team is coming off an exciting playoff upset of the Boston Celtics and added two superstars in James and Jaylen Brown<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cIn Philadelphia we\u2019re not used to having nice things,\u201d Abdelnaby joked. \u201cAll eyes are going to be on you. I think everybody has to pick up their game a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s true for the network as well. Alexandra Matcham, the vice president of content for NBC Sports Philadelphia, said they are currently budgeting in hopes of staffing up leading up to the season. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you get a generational talent on your team, it could easily become a situation where the people that work for us are burnt out by December, and you don\u2019t want that,\u201d Matcham said. \u201cYou need extra help.\u201d <\/p>\n That\u2019s a welcome change in an era where regional sports networks like NBC Sports Philadelphia have been hit hard by cord cutting. How things shape up remains unclear, but Matcham said there are several possibilities leading up to the season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019d be helpful if somebody who\u2019s followed and covered him were on our staff,\u201d Matcham said. \u201cMaybe we add people like that.\u201d <\/p>\n For years, NBC Sports Philadelphia and its predecessor, Comcast SportsNet, turned to reporters like Serena Winters<\/a> and Taryn Hatcher<\/a> for its Sixers broadcasts. Right now, the network is brainstorming whether to add a third voice alongside Abdelnaby and play-by-play announcer Kate Scott, but the role wouldn\u2019t be confined to baseline updates. <\/p>\n \u201cAs I\u2019m talking to my colleagues, I\u2019m not even calling it a reporter role because I feel like it\u2019s going to give them a stereotype I don\u2019t necessarily mean,\u201d Matcham said. <\/p>\n \u201cI think you need a voice on the court where Alaa and Kate can\u2019t be to give us insight, do pre- and postgame interviews, analysis, all of that,\u201d Matcham added. \u201cIt\u2019s a very hard job to do.\u201d<\/p>\n A lot more national TV exposure for the Sixers<\/p>\n While the NBA hasn\u2019t released its 2026-27 schedule, Matcham expects NBC Sports Philadelphia to air fewer Sixers games this season. <\/p>\n The network, which has broadcast Sixers games since 1997<\/a>, is guaranteed a minimum of 67 games this season as part of its deal with the NBA. It\u2019s widely expected the league will take 15 Sixers games \u2014 the most allowed under their current TV deal \u2014 and put them in exclusive national windows on ABC, NBC, and Amazon\u2019s Prime Video. <\/p>\n \u201cLeBron\u2019s arrival in Philadelphia instantly becomes one of the biggest stories in sports and adds even more star power and intrigue to an already loaded NBA schedule,\u201d said Justin Byczek, NBC\u2019s executive vice president of programming and rights management. \u201cHis move elevates some of the league\u2019s most historic rivalries, including highly anticipated battles with the defending NBA Champion New York Knicks.\u201d<\/p>\n Another 19 games are expected to air nationally and on NBC Sports Philadelphia as side-by-sides on Peacock, ESPN, and NBA TV. That\u2019s a total of 34 national games for the Sixers, compared to just 14 when the schedule was announced last season. <\/p>\n Under the NBA\u2019s current media rights contract, every NBA team is guaranteed at least two national broadcasts. Only the most popular teams land 34, the max allowed under the 11-year, $76 billion TV deal. <\/p>\n It\u2019s a great outcome for the NBA. The Lakers remain relevant with Luka Don\u010di\u0107, while James\u2019 decision to join the Sixers will juice interest in matchups against the Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, and Miami Heat, who were spurned by LeBron but landed Giannis Antetokounmpo. There\u2019s also the Sixers-Celtics rivalry, already heightened by Philly trading for Jaylen Brown.<\/a><\/p>\n