Kevin Harlan will be on the play-by-play call for Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves. Unfortunately, Friday night’s broadcast could be one of the last NBA games the veteran announcer calls for TNT.
Amid reports that Warner Bros. Discovery was outbid by NBC for its NBA rights package in the league’s next media deal, Harlan appeared on the “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” podcast to talk about TNT potentially losing the NBA after a nearly 40-year partnership and how that development could affect his broadcasting career.
“I can’t do anything and so I think right away I feel like I want to do the best job I can do right now,” says Harlan, who has been calling the broadcasts for TNT since 1996. “I can control the things I can control and those are my performances and I’ll do my best for the next one, no matter how many games we have left in this series.”
Harlan went on to explain how meaningful the NBA is to him, as it was the first sport he worked on after college, calling broadcasts for the Kansas City Kings.
During his career, Harlan was also the lead announcer for the Timberwolves’ TV broadcasts for the first nine seasons of the franchise’s existence from 1989-98. The team recently honored Harlan before Game 4 of the second-round playoff series with the Denver Nuggets.
Kevin Harlan, the original voice of the Timberwolves, was honored during Sunday’s playoff game as part of their 35th anniversary celebration. pic.twitter.com/SBF58tgonf
— Terrible announcement (@awfulannouncing) May 13, 2024
It’s possible — if not likely — that Harlan will be labeled as one of the top play-by-play voices for NBC or Amazon when those outlets start airing NBA games in the 2025-2026 season. He calls the NFL and NCAA tournament games for CBS (and for Westwood One on radio) and while working for both CBS and NBC may seem unusual for an announcer, it would be for two different sports.
However, Harlan is a beloved voice for fans of both basketball and football. NBC or Amazon hiring him to call NBA games seems like an easy move. But broadcasting is a business and contracts may not be that simple, especially when it comes to a rival wireless network. Still, Harlan hopes he can continue calling NBA games.
“I’d be lying if I said the NBA doesn’t have a special place in my heart,” Harlan told Traina, “and I hope I continue with Turner in some way or another and if not with Turner, we’ll let it be fate guides me.”
