NBA on CBS

TheNBA on CBSis the branding that is used for weekly broadcasts ofNational Basketball Association( NBA ) games produced byCBS Sports,the sports division of theCBStelevision network in the United States. CBS aired NBA games from the1973–74 NBA season(when it succeededABC Sportsas the national broadcaster of the NBA ) until the1989–90 NBA season(when CBS was succeeded byNBC Sports).

NBA on CBS
1983–1989title card
Genre	NBA game telecasts
Directed by	Sandy Grossman Mike Arnold Larry Cavolina Robert A. Fishman
Presented by	See thebroadcasterssection below
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No.of seasons	17
Production
Executive producer	Ted Shaker
Producers	Michael Burks Bob Dekas Bob Mansbach Robert D. Stenner
Production locations	Various NBA arenas(game telecasts)
Cinematography	Carmen Abhold Scott Carlson Al Cialino Terry Clark Keith Dabney Dan Flaherty Mike Glenn George Graffeo Mike Harvey Tim Maher Michael Marks Tom McCarthy Jeffrey Pollack George Rothweiler Paul T. Sherwood Fred Shimizu
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	150 minutes or until end of game
Production company	CBS Sports
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	October 20, 1973(1973-10-20)– June 14, 1990(1990-06-14)
Related
NBA on NBC NBA on TBS NBA on TNT

History

Early presentation

In the early 1970s, theCBStelevision network airedAmerican Basketball Association(ABA) games, specifically league's annualAll-Star Game/selected playoff games.Pat Summerallserved as the CBS analyst on some ABA games alongsideDon Criquion play-by-play. Game 5 of the1970 ABA Finals(Indianavs.Los Angeles) was nationally televised by CBSon Saturday, May 23 at 3 p.m.Eastern Time.The broadcast was, however,blacked outin Indiana. After that league's1972–73 season,CBS lost its TV airing rights as they started airing NBA games in its1973–74season onward.

During CBS' first few years of covering the NBA, CBS was accused of mishandling their NBA telecasts.Among the criticisms included CBS playing too much loud music, the lack of stability with the announcers,regionalizing telecasts (thus fragmenting the ratings even further), billing games as being between star playersinstead of teams, and devoting too much attention to theslam dunkininstant replays.Regular features included apre-game showthat consisted of mini-teams of celebrities, and active and former NBA players competing against each other, and a halftime show calledHorse.

The NBA eventually took notice of the criticisms and managed to persuade CBS to eliminate its original halftime show. In its place, came human-interest shows about the players (similar to the ones seen on the network'sNFLpre-gameThe NFL Today). There also was a possibility that CBS would start televising a single national game on Sunday afternoons.

Other adjustments that CBS made in hopes of improving its coverage included hiring reporterSonny Hillto cover the league on a full-time basis. CBS also put microphones and cameras on team huddles to allow viewers to see and hear coaches at work. Finally, CBS introduced a halftime segment calledRed Auerbachon Roundball,featuring theHall of FameBoston Celticscoach. The segment intended to not only educate CBS' viewers about the complexities of the pro game but also to teach young players how to improve their skills. They also subtly introduced audiences to anall-star teambased on Auerbach's criteria such as screening and passing. In aRed on Roundballhalftime segment that appeared on CBS' NBA telecasts in the1973–74 season,Auerbach and refereeMendy Rudolphdiscussed and demonstrated the practice offloppingwith obvious disapproval.

Sandy Grossmanwas the chief director of broadcasting NBA games on CBS during the early 1970s.Grossmann innovated using music at the break of basketball games, and after he played "The Hustle"byVan McCoy,McCoy sent him a gold record in thanks of his promotion.

ABC meanwhile, filled the void left by losing the NBA bycounterprogrammingWide World of Sportson Sundaysagainst CBS' NBA coverage.

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
10/20/1973	Atlanta@Phoenix	2:30
10/27/1973	Buffalo@Cleveland	2:00
11/3/1973	Capital@Philadelphia	2:30
11/10/1973	Kansas City-Omaha@Milwaukee	2:30
11/17/1973	Portland@Houston	2:30
12/1/1973	Seattle@ Atlanta	2:00
1/6/1974	Phoenix @Chicago	2:30
1/13/1974	Boston@ Atlanta	12:30
1/20/1974	Los Angeles@ Milwaukee	2:30
1/27/1974	New York@ Atlanta	2:30
2/3/1974	Capital@ Boston	2:30
2/10/1974	Los Angeles @ Chicago	2:30
2/17/1974	New York@ Milwaukee	2:30
2/24/1974	Milwaukee @K.C.-Omaha	2:30
3/3/1974	New York @ Boston	2:30
3/10/1974	Los Angeles @ Boston	2:30
3/17/1974	Milwaukee @ Chicago	2:30
3/24/1974	Atlanta @ Capital	3:00
3/31/1974	New York @ Capital	2:30

Pat Summerall worked theMastersforCBSduring the April 13–14 weekend in1974.

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
11/23/75 (regional telecasts)	Philadelphia@Atlanta	4 p.m.
	Milwaukee@Seattle
12/7/75	Golden State@ Seattle	4:30 p.m.
12/21/75	Los Angeles@Cleveland	4 p.m.
1/11/76 (regional telecast)	Boston @ Philadelphia	1:30 p.m.
	Detroit@Kansas City	1:30 p.m.
1/25/76	Buffalo@Boston	1:30 p.m.
	Chicago@Kansas City	3:45 p.m.
2/1/76	Washington@ Golden State	3 p.m.
2/3/76	ALL-STAR GAME(in Philadelphia)	9 p.m.
2/8/76	Buffalo @ Philadelphia	1:30 p.m.
2/15/76	Los Angeles @ Washington	1:30 p.m.
2/22/76 -Double Header	Los Angeles @ Seattle	1:30 p.m.
	Philadelphia @ Golden State	4 p.m.
2/29/76	Golden State @ Boston	3 p.m.
3/5/76	Golden State @ Los Angeles	11:45 p.m. tape delay
3/7/76 (regional telecasts)	Milwaukee @ Kansas City	3:30 p.m.
	New York @ Washington
3/14/76	Washington @ Boston	3:30
3/21/76	Houston@ Seattle	3:30
3/28/76	Buffalo @ Washington	2 p.m.
4/4/76 -Double Header	Buffalo @ Boston	1:30 p.m.
	Philadelphia @Detroit	4 p.m.
4/11/76 -Double Header	Boston @ Washington	1:30 p.m.
	Kansas City @ Buffalo	4 p.m.

In the1975–76 season,CBS had asked the NBA to schedule both games on January 25, so they could choose which one to televise.

Slam dunk contest

During the1976–77 season,the NBA 's first after theABA– NBA mergerbrought fourAmerican Basketball Associationteams into the league, CBS held aslam dunk contestthat ran during halftime of theGame of the Weektelecasts.Don Criquiwas the host of this particular competition. The final, which pittedLarry McNeillof theGolden State Warriorsagainst eventual winnerDarnell "Dr. Dunk" Hillmanof theIndiana Pacers,took place during Game 6 of the1977 NBA Finals.At the time of the final, Hillman's rights had been traded to theNew York Nets,but he had not yet signed a contract. Since he was not officially a member of any NBA team, instead of wearing a jersey, he competed in a plain white tank top. Then for the post-competition interview, Hillman donned a shirt with the words "Bottle Shoppe" – the name of anIndianapolisliquor store, which is still in existence, and was the sponsor of a city parks softball league team for which Hillman played left field (and the only team he was a member of at the time).Other players to compete in the slam dunk tournament includedJulius Erving,George Gervin,Kareem Abdul-JabbarandMoses Malone.CBS, anxious for star power, also gaveDavid Thompsonthe opportunity to be eliminated three times.

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
12/25/76	Chicago@Kansas City	12:45 p.m.
1/9/77	Los Angeles @ Detroit	noon.
1/16/77	New York@Golden State	4:00 (regional coverage)
	Denver@Seattle
1/23/77	Seattle @Phoenix	4:45 p.m.
1/30/77	San Antonio@ Seattle	4:45 p.m.
2/6/1977	Los Angeles@Philadelphia	1:45 p.m.
2/6/77	Denver @ Phoenix	4 p.m.
2/20/1977	Los Angeles @Washington	1:45 p.m.
	Boston@ Golden State	4 p.m.
2/27/77	Philadelphia @ Seattle	4:45 p.m.
3/6/77	Chicago @ Golden State	3:45 p.m.
3/13/77	Washington @ Golden State	3:45 p.m.
3/20/77	Portland@ Phoenix	3:45 p.m.
3/27/77	Golden State @ Denver	4:45 p.m.

H-O-R-S-E Competition

During the1977–78 season,CBS held a H-O-R-S-E competition at halftime of theGame of the Weektelecasts. Again, Don Criqui hosted with Mendy Rudolph officiating. 32 players, includingRick Barry,Pete Maravich,George Gervin,JoJo White,Doug Collins,Paul WestphalandBob McAdoo,competed in a round-robin single-elimination tournament each week. Barry was eliminated in the first round byEarl Tatumof theLos Angeles Lakers.Maravich and Westphal made it to the final, which was scheduled to take place at halftime of Game 2 of the1978 NBA Finals.However, Maravich was injured and unavailable, so CBS instead had Westphal shoot a free-throw against "Bag-Man" (who was Rick Barry, who was on the announcing team, wearing a paper sack over his head). Westphal, with a bag over his head as well, made the free throw while Barry missed, and CBS awarded him the trophy.

• Among the games aired this season included
  • 10/28/1977 Philadelphia 76ers vs. Portland Trail Blazers 11:30 p.m.
  • 12/25/1977 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Braves 12:40 p.m.
  • 1/8/1978 (regional telecast) New Orleans Jazz vs. Portland Trail Blazers 6:45 p.m.
  • 1/8/1978 (regional telecast) Los Angeles Lakers vs. Indiana Pacers 1:45 p.m.
  • 1/8/1978 (regional telecast) Chicago Bulls vs. Denver Nuggets 1:45 p.m.
  • 1/8/1978 (regional telecast) Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers 1:45 p.m.
  • 1/15/1978 (regional telecast) Portland Trail Blazers vs. Boston Celtics 1 p.m.
  • 1/15/1978 (regional telecast) Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons 1 p.m.
  • 1/22/1978 (regional telecast) New York Knicks vs. Denver Nuggets
  • 1/22/1978 (regional telecast) Detroit Pistons vs. New Orleans Jazz
  • 1/29/1978 (regional telecast) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons 1:45 p.m.
  • 1/29/1978 (regional telecast) Los Angeles Lakers vs. Washington Bullets 1:45 p.m.
  • 1/29/1978 (regional telecast) Philadelphia 76ers vs. Denver Nuggets 1:45 p.m.
  • 2/5/1978 The NBA All-Star Game 1:45 p.m.
  • 2/12/1978 (regional telecast) New York Knicks vs. New Jersey Nets 1:45 p.m.
  • 2'19'1978 (regional telecast) New Orleans Jazz vs. Washington Bullets
  • 2/26/1978 (regional telecast) Milwaukee Bucks vs. New Orleans Jazz
  • 2/26/1978 (regional telecast) Portland Trail Blazers vs. Chicago Bulls
  • 3/5/1978 (regional telecast) New Orleans Jazz vs. Detroit Pistons
  • 3/5/1978 (regional telecast) New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics
  • 3/12/1978 (regional telecast) Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics
  • 3/19/1978 (regional telecast) New York Knicks vs Philadelphia 76ers 1:45 p.m.
  • 3/26/1978 (regional telecast) Portland Trail Blazers vs Philadelphia 76ers
  • 4/2/1978 (regional telecast) New York Knicks vs Washington Bullets 1:45 p.m.
  • 4/8/1978 New York Knicks vs Buffalo Braves
  • 4/9/1978 (regional telecast) Buffalo Braves vs Boston Celtics

Tape delay and playoff scheduling

From1975to1979,CBS aired allNBA Finalsgameslive(usually during the afternoon); live NBA Finals game coverage on the network resumed in1982.During this era, CBS aired weeknight playoff games from earlier rounds ontape delayat 11:30 p.m.Eastern Time(airing games live when the game site was in thePacific Time Zone). CBS continued this practice until at least the mid-1980s.

CBS did not want sportscasters to give the final score on the late-evening newscasts aired by its local affiliates. The network preferred the games to not be over by that time if they were going to be aired on tape later that night. Most CBS games were either 8:30 or 9 p.m. local starts. For instance, CBS aired Games 1–3 of the1981 Western Conference finals,between theHouston RocketsandKansas City Kings.Ironically, both Western Conference teams finished theregular seasonwith a record 40–42, instead of the Eastern Conference finals between theBoston CelticsandPhiladelphia 76ers(both teams finished with a 62–20 record).

1986was the last year that CBS aired an NBA playoff game on tape delay. The network's final delayed playoff broadcast was Game 3 (on May 16) of the Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers andHouston Rockets.The game aired at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time after having a 9:30 p.m. tip.

Preemptions

Due to the NBA 's lack of widespread popularity nationwide in the 1970s and early 1980s, the network tinkered with the league's schedule. However, individual CBS affiliates did as much tinkering, with many outright refusing to air NBA programming during much of CBS' partnership with the league.

WCPOinCincinnati,a CBS affiliate during theNBA on CBSera, did not carry many regular season games in the 1970s, deciding to run movies and other programming instead. The city had lost theCincinnati Royalswhen they moved toKansas CityandOmahain 1972; Cincinnati has not had an NBA team since. As anABCaffiliate post-1996, WCPO has carried that network's regular season (and playoffs) sinceABCandESPNgained broadcast rights to the NBA in2002.Other markets that hardly aired NBA games during the early half of the CBS era includedBaltimoreand, infamously,Atlanta(which had, and still has,a team).

All through the 1980s when CBS broadcast NBA basketball games on Sunday afternoons, those games were pretty much a no-show inthe Carolinas.WBTVinCharlotte,WFMYinGreensboro,WTVD(now an ABC owned-and-operated station) inRaleigh,andWBTWinFlorencerefused to show any of the games. They instead opted for old movies, and off-net repeats mostly.WLTXinColumbiadid air a full schedule of NBA games, and low-powered indie Ch. 62 inFayettevilledid take the games instead ofWTVD(other indies in the state didn't bother with them though). Ironically, toward the end of the NBA 's partnership with CBS, theCharlotte Hornetswould make their debut, citing the sport's popularity in the Carolinas as a reason for expansion.

The ABC-ownedoraffiliatedstations (WMAR,WCPO,andWTVD) now cleared all sports programming, including the NBA, in their partnership with the network.

Scheduling history overview

CBS scheduling tote boards

Game	Day	Date	Status
1979 NBA Final
1	Sunday	May 20	Live
2	Thursday	May 24	Tape delay
3	Sunday	May 27	Live
4	Tuesday	May 29	Live to Eastern/Central zones,tape delay toMountain/Pacific zones (11:30 p.m. Eastern Time start)
5	Friday	June 1	Live (9 p.m. Eastern Time start)
1980 Eastern Conference Final
1	Friday	April 18	No broadcast
2	Sunday	April 20	Live
3	Wednesday	April 23	No broadcast
4	Thursday	April 24	No broadcast
5	Sunday	April 27	Live
1980 Western Conference Final
1	Tuesday	April 22	No broadcast
2	Wednesday	April 23	Live to Eastern/Central zones, tape delay elsewhere
3	Friday	April 25	Live to Eastern/Central zones, tape delay elsewhere
4	Sunday	April 27	Live
5	Wednesday	April 30	Live to Eastern/Central zones, tape delay elsewhere
1980 NBA Final
1	Sunday	May 4	Live
2	Wednesday	May 7	Live to Eastern/Central zones, tape delay elsewhere
3	Saturday	May 10	Live
4	Sunday	May 11	Live
5	Wednesday	May 14	Live to Eastern/Central zones, tape delay elsewhere
6	Friday	May 16	Affiliates had choice to show live or tape delay

1976

The1976 NBA Finalshad three straight off days between the Sunday afternoon opener and Game 2 the following Thursday night due to CBS' concern with lowratingsfor professional basketball. The 1975–76 network television season (as well as May sweeps) ended after Wednesday, May 26 (with weekend afternoon games not factored into the prime-time ratings). Accordingly, CBS allowed Game 1 to be played on Sunday afternoon since the ratings would not count, but would not permit Game 2 to be playedlivein prime time unless the NBA waited until Thursday evening.

For Game 3 of the Finals, CBS forced the NBA to start the game inPhoenixat 10:30 a.m. local time (1:30 p.m. Eastern Time) on a Sunday morning. This was done to accommodate a golf telecast that afternoon. Many local clergymen were outraged, as attendance at Sunday church services was drastically reduced that day.

1977

By1977,CBS' NBA schedule was composed of six regionalized telecasts on Sundays. Not only that, the network would air one national game if they felt that the match-up itself warranted national coverage. CBS also could stage doubleheaders and switch from a one-sided game to a close one. During this period, the network stopped airing any games during prime time before the NBA Finals. Instead, CBS started airing severalWest Coastgames at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

For most of the early years, the NBA tried to assist CBS by allowing the network to choose any game it wanted to broadcast. But too often, these involved smaller-market teams (such as thePortland Trail Blazers) that were in the playoffs or had won the championship.

CBS wanted the NBA to start Game 6 of theFinalsat 10:30 local time on Sunday morning to accommodate agolf telecastof theKemper Open(similar to 1976). This time, the NBA refused and CBS agreed to a noon start inPortland.Even though this was the Finals' clinching game, CBS cut away from its NBA coverage very quickly after the game ended, skipping the trophy presentation in the Trail Blazers' locker room to instead televise the golf tournament.

1978

By 1978,NBCaired Saturday afternoon college basketball games, while CBS aired NBA doubleheaders on Sunday afternoons, and mostindependent stationsaired local professional and college games. CBS started to fear that their ratings suffered as a result of too many basketball games being aired on television at once. As an experiment of sorts, the network decided to air the first two games of theConference finalsat 11:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

1979

See also:1979 NBA Playoffs

In1979,Games 2 and 5 of the Eastern Conference finals were televised live, while Game 7 was broadcast on tape delay. Games 3 and 6 of the Western Conference finals aired live, while Games 2, 5, and 7 were televised via tape delay. Games 6 and 7 of the1979 NBA Finalswould have been televised live (at 3:30 p.m. on a Sunday and then 9 p.m. on the following Tuesday), but were unnecessary. However, Game 2 of the Finals was aired on tape delay whileCBS affiliatesin theDC areaand thePacific Northwesttelecast the game live.

1980

By the1979–1980 season,the network's NBA ratings had bottomed, with a regular season rating for the broadcasts at 6.4. By this time, the network had eliminated its regional coverage and only used two play-by-play announcers (Brent MusburgerandGary Bender) and three color commentators (Bill RussellandRod Hundley,who teamed with Musburger and Rick Barry, who teamed with Bender); CBS felt that showing an NBA Finals game was not worth pre-empting their Friday night lineup (the smash hitDallasin particular) during Maysweeps(although theiconic episodein whichJ.R. Ewingwas shot aired on March 21, 1980, andDallaswas already in summer reruns). The consensus was that a basketball game in prime time would have drawn fewer viewers. As a result, CBS used to regularly run NBA games in the 11:30 p.m. time slot (then occupied byThe CBS Late Movie). For the1980and1981 NBA Finals,CBS scheduled Games 3 and 4 on back-to-back days (Saturday and Sunday) to avoid an extra tape delay game.

When it came time for CBS to broadcast Game 6 of the 1980 Finals (on Friday, May 16), the network gave its affiliates the option of either airing the game live or on tape delay (in fact,WAGA-TVinAtlanta[home of theHawks,and now a Fox owned-and-operated station] did not carry theNBA on CBSfor numerous year and this game was no exception; ironically, thanks to an independent station picking it up, Atlanta was the only market outside of Philadelphia in the Eastern, Central and Mountain time zones to air it live). If the affiliate chose to air the game later that night, then the prime schedule would consist of reruns ofThe Incredible Hulk,The Dukes of HazzardandDallas(CBS,NBCand ABC ended the 1979–80 seasons in late March and early April in anticipation of astrikeby theScreen Actors Guild,which came to fruition in July 1980). The clinching Game 6 of the 1980 Finals between theLos Angeles LakersandPhiladelphia 76erswas, most notably, aired live in thePhiladelphia,Los Angeles, Portland,SeattleandSan Franciscomarkets; CBS stations in the latter three markets were able to air the game live and still show most of the CBS prime schedule since the game tipped at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. Otherwise, most CBS affiliates chose to air Game 6 on tape delay.

The reason for this scheduling dilemma was the fact that the NBA had opted to start the regular season earlier. Starting in the mid-1970s, the NBA had pushed back the start of the regular season, resulting in it ending increasingly later (for example, April 6 in1975,April 11 in1976). Before that, the regular season had always ended in late March. For the 1979–1980 and 1980–1981 seasons, the NBA reverted to the earlier practice, with the season ending respectively on March 30, 1980 and March 29, 1981 (both falling on a Sunday). That meant that the Finals in those years began in the first week of May rather than the end of May, and as a result, the weeknight games were played during May ratings sweeps.Consequently, weeknight games held on the West Coast started at 8:30 p.m. Pacific Time, which was 11:30 p.m. in the Eastern Time Zone; those games could be shown live. However, non-West Coast weeknight games required tape-delay, to be shown at 11:30 p.m.

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
10-12-79 (Friday)	Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Diego Clippers	11:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
12-25-79 (Tuesday)	Philadelphiavs.Washington	12:30 p.m.
1-20-80 (Sunday)	Seattlevs.Boston	Noon
1-27-80 (Sunday) - regional action	Atlantavs.San Antonio	1 p.m.
	San Diego Clippersvs. Boston
2-3-80 (Sunday)	NBA All-Star Game@ Landover, MD (West vs East)	1 p.m.
2-10-80 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakersvs.Philadelphia	1 p.m.
2-17-80 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Seattle	3:45 pm
2-24-80 (Sunday) - regional action	Milwaukeevs.Kansas City	1 p.m.
	San Diego Clippers vs.Chicago
3-2-80 (Sunday) -Double Header	Los Angeles Lakers vs.Phoenix	1 p.m.
	Milwaukee vs. San Diego Clippers	3:45 p.m.
3-9-80 (Sunday)	Philadelphia vs. San Antonio	1 p.m.
3-16-80 (Sunday) - regional action	New York Knicksvs. Washington	2 p.m.
	Phoenix vs. Los Angeles Lakers
	Kansas City vs. Milwaukee
3-21-80 (Friday)	Phoenix vs.Portland	11:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
3-23-80 (Sunday)	New York Knicksvs.Philadelphia	1 p.m.
3-28-80 (Friday)	San Diego vs. Los Angeles Lakers	11:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
3-30-80 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.

1981

The 1980–1981 season was arguably the rock bottom point of the tape delay era for CBS. CBS aired four of the sixFinalsgames on tape delay and six of nine during theConference finals.Just like the previous year, CBS scheduled Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals without an off-day to avoid yet another tape-delayed game. CBS wanted thePacific teamsto advance in theplayoffsso that they could show live games at 11:30 p.m. on theEastern U.S.;however, theLos Angeles LakersandPortland Trail Blazerswere upset in Round 1, while thePhoenix Sunswere upset in Round 2. This left two teams located in the Central Time Zone, theHouston RocketsandKansas City Kings(both with 40-42 regular season records), to play in the Western Conference finals.

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
10-10-80 (Friday)	Los Angeles Lakersvs.Seattle	11:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
12-25-80 (Thursday)	Boston vs. New York Knicks	12:30 p.m.
1-18-81 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston	1 p.m.
1-25-81 (Sunday) - regional action	Phoenixvs.Philadelphia	12 p.m.
	Seattle vs.Boston
2-1-81 (Sunday)	NBA All-Star Game@ Cleveland (West vs East)	1 p.m.
2-8-81 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakers vs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.
2-22-81 (Sunday) -Double Header	Los Angeles Lakers vs.New York Knicks	1 p.m.
	Philadelphia vs. Phoenix	3:30 p.m.
3-1-81 (Sunday) -Double Header	Philadelphia vs. Boston	1 p.m.
	Phoenix vs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:30 p.m.
3-8-81 (Sunday) - regional action	Chicagovs.Washington	1 p.m.
	Milwaukeevs. Philadelphia
3-15-81 (Sunday) - regional action	Philadelphia vs. New York Knicks	1 p.m.
	Chicago vs.Kansas City Kings
3-22-81 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.
3-27-81 (Friday)	Los Angeles Lakers vs. Seattle	11:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
3-29-81 (Sunday)	Philadelphia vs. Boston	1 p.m.

Later years

The NBA responded to CBS' actions by returning to a schedule that started later – usually the last weekend in October – and ended in mid-to-late-April, resulting in the NBA Finals ending after sweeps. In the 1979–1980 and 1980–1981 seasons, the NBA had experimented with ending the regular season at the end of March, thereby ensuring that the Finals were played in early to mid May; starting with the1981–1982 season,a late April regular-season finale was held, resulting in the finals starting in late May and stretching into June (for example, while the 1980 Finals were slated for May 4 to 18 if they went seven games, and the 1981 Finals for May 5–17, the 1982 Finals were scheduled for May 27 to June 10).

While CBS would stop tape delaying its game broadcasts after the1981 NBA Finals,many first-round playoff games were not nationally televised (and would not become so until1995). During this era, CBS typically provided regional coverage of two games in a late Sunday afternoon time slot during the first three weekends of the playoffs. In1986,CBS provided regional coverage of the Eastern Conference Finals and Western Conference finals games on May 18. This would be the last time that any NBA Conference finals game was not nationally televised.

During the 1980s, CBS showed a mixture of NBA andcollege basketballgames during the regular season. Each March, CBS would essentially suspend its NBA coverage during theNCAA men's basketball tournament.CBS typically showed a few regular season NBA games in the weeks after theNFL seasonended, before March Madness and several weekends leading into theplayoffs.

1981–82

CBS would reserve aplayoffgame with an early start (such as Game 6 of theEastern Conference finals) for tape delay, preventingUSA Networkfrom televising it live.

The'82 Finalsmarked the first time since 1978 that all of the games aired live in their entirety; As a compromise between CBS and the NBA, the season returned to late October after starting it in early October the previous two seasons, meaning that the championship series started after the conclusion of May sweeps. Also,Brent Musburgerserved as anchor for Game 1 in Philadelphia, but had to anchor Games 2 and 5 from New York, because he hostedCBS Sports Sunday.So anchoring the coverage in Musburger's absence wereFrank Glieber(Games 2-4) andPat O'Brien(Game 5).

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
10-30-81 (Friday)	Houstonvs.Los Angeles Lakers	11:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
12-25-81	Los Angeles Lakers vs.Phoenix	3:30 p.m.
1-17-82 (Sunday)	Philadelphiavs.New Jersey	1 p.m.
1-22-82 (Friday)	Detroit vs. Los Angeles Lakers	11:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
1-24-82 (Sunday)	Portlandvs.Boston	noon.
1-31-82 (Sunday)	NBA All-Star Game@ East Rutherford, NJ (West vs East)	3 p.m.
2-7-82 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston	noon
2-14-82 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:45 p.m.
2-21-82 (Sunday)	Phoenixvs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.
2-28-82 (Sunday)	Milwaukeevs. Boston	noon
3-7-82 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakers vs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.
3-14-82 (Sunday)	Phoenix vs. Boston	12 p.m.
3-28-82 (Sunday)	Philadelphia vs. Boston	2 p.m.
4-2-82 (Friday)	San Antoniovs.Seattle	11:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
4-4-82 (Sunday) -Double Header	Houston vs. San Antonio	1 p.m.
	Portland vs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:30 p.m.
4-11-82 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.
4-16-82 (Friday)	Golden Statevs. Los Angeles Lakers	11:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
4-18-82 (Sunday) -Double Header	Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.
	Portland vs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:30 p.m.

1982–83

In the1982–83 season,CBS significantly reduced the number of regular season broadcasts from 18 to four.The rationale was thatcable televisionnetworks (namely, theUSA NetworkandESPN) were carrying a large number of regular season games (at least 40 each). In return, CBS executives believed that the public was being oversaturated with NBA coverage.

CBS added two broadcasts in November near the end of the1982National Football Leagueplayers' strike. The 57-day walkout ended on November 16, and games resumed five days later.

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
11-7-82 (Sunday)	Seattlevs.Milwaukee	3:30 p.m.
11-14-82 (Sunday)	Washingtonvs.Philadelphia	3:30 p.m.
1-30-83 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakers @ Boston	1 p.m.
2-13-83 (Sunday)	NBA All-Star Game@ LA (East vs West)	3:30 p.m.
3-6-83 (Sunday)	Philadelphia vs.New Jersey	oon
4-15-83 (Friday)	Seattle vs.Los Angeles Lakers	11:30 p.m. (tape delayed)
4-17-83 (Sunday)	Philadelphia vs. Boston	1 p.m.

1983–84

For the1983–84 season,CBS would televise just ten (out of 170 nationally) regular season games. Meanwhile, CBS televised about 16playoffgames. 1984 featured an increase to 47 nationally televised playoff time slots (43 national games plus 8 regional games in four windows).

Also, in 1984,CBS Sports'Lesley Visser(the then wife of leadNBA on CBSplay-by-play announcerDick Stockton) became the first woman to cover anNBA Finals.

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
10-29-83 (Saturday)	San Antonio vs. Houston	3:45 p.m.
12-25-83 (Sunday)	New Jersey Nets vs. New York Knicks	3:30 p.m.
1-15-84 (Sunday)	Bostonvs.Milwaukee	1 p.m.
1-29-84 (Sunday)	NBA All-Star Game@ Denver (East vs West)	2 p.m.
2-12-84 (Sunday)	Philadelphia vs. Boston	3:30 p.m.
2-26-84 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakersvs.Philadelphia	noon
3-4-84 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit	noon
4-8-84 (Sunday) -Double Header	Philadelphia vs.New York Knicks	1 p.m.
	Los Angeles Lakers vs.Portland	3:30 p.m.

1984–85

On May 12, 1985, during halftime of theBoston Celtics–Philadelphia 76ersplayoff game,CBS televised the firstNBA draft lottery.

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
10-27-84 (Saturday)	Houstonvs.Dallas	3:30 p.m.
12-25-84 (Tuesday)	Detroitvs.Philadelphia	3:30 p.m.
1-13-85 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit	noon
1-20-85 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.
2-10-85 (Sunday)	NBA All-Star Game@ Indianapolis (West vs East)	1:45 p.m.
2-17-85 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:45 p.m.
2-24-85 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakersvs.New York Knicks	noon
4-7-85 (Sunday) -Double Header	New York Knicks vs. Boston	1 p.m.
	Portlandvs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:30 p.m.

1985–86

1986 was the last time CBS aired anNBA playoffgame on tape delay, Game 3 of the Western Conference finals between theLos Angeles LakersandHouston Rockets,which was held on May 16 of that year. The game aired at 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time following a 9:30 p.m. tip. Also in 1986, CBS provided regional coverage of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference finals games on May 18. As previously mentioned, this was the last time that any NBA Conference finals game was not nationally televised.

As was the case in1985,Game 1 of the1986 NBA Finalswas onMemorial Dayafternoon. Game 3 of the NBA Finals inHoustonwas played during the midst of an electrical storm that knocked the picture out for approximately the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. Although the video was already on the fritz towards the end of the third, CBS announcerDick Stocktonwaited for nearly three minutes before adjusting to a radio play-by-play.

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
10-26-85 (Saturday)	Philadelphiavs.New York Knicks	1 p.m.
12-25-85 (Wednesday)	Boston vs. New York Knicks	3:30 p.m.
1-19-86 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit	noon
1-26-86 (Sunday)	Philadelphia vs. Boston	noon
2-9-86 (Sunday)	NBA All-Star Game@ Dallas (East vs West)	1:45 p.m.
2-16-86 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:30 p.m.
2-23-86 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakersvs.Philadelphia	noon
3-2-86 (Sunday)	Detroit vs. Boston	2 p.m.
3-9-86 (Sunday)	Indianavs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.
4-6-86 (Sunday) -Double Header	Boston vs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.
	Los Angeles Lakers vs.Houston	3:30 p.m.

1986–87

In1987,CBS provided prime-time coverage for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, marking the network's first pre-Finals prime-time playoff telecast since1975.CBS was able to do this because the NBA decided to push the Finals back from late May until early June. With the Finals starting a week later, the awkward long pauses between Games 1 and 2 were no longer required. Because of this, instead of Game 2 of the Finals being shown on the first night after the sweeps ended, CBS could show Game 6 of the conference finals.

Also in 1987, theNBA Finalshit a then-record rating of 15.9.James Brownwas the sideline reporter for Games 3 and 4 (the latter being theMagicjunior skyhook game) of the Finals becausePat O'Brienattended the birth of his son, Sean Patrick. O'Brien called Games 1, 2, 5, and 6.

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
11-1-86 (Saturday)	Los Angeles Lakersvs.Houston	3:30 p.m.
12-25-86 (Thursday)	Chicago vs. New York Knicks	noon
1-18-87 (Sunday)	Houstonvs.Boston	noon
1-24-87 (Saturday)	Los Angeles Lakersvs.Dallas	3:30 p.m.
1-25-87 (Sunday)	Philadelphia vs. Boston	1 p.m.
2-1-87 (Sunday)	Houston vs.Atlanta	1 p.m.
2-8-87 (Sunday)	NBA All Star Game@ Seattle (East vs. West)	3 p.m.
2-15-87 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:30 p.m.
3-1-87 (Sunday)	Philadelphiavs. Houston	2 p.m.
3-8-87 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Detroit	noon
4-5-87 (Sunday) -Double Header	Boston vs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.
	Los Angeles Lakers vs.Denver	3:30 p.m.
4-19-87 (Sunday)	Atlanta vs. Boston	1 p.m.

1988–89

By the late 1980s, CBS was telecasting 15 or 16 regular season gamesper year. In1989alone, only 13 of the 24 playoff games (Games 1–3, specifically) in Round 1 aired onTBSor CBS (for example, none of the four games from theSeattle–Houstonfirst-round series appeared on national television). Notably, Game 5 of the1989 playoff seriesbetween theChicago BullsandCleveland Cavaliers(featuringMichael Jordan's now famous game-winning, last-secondshotoverCraig Ehlo) was not nationally televised. The CBS-affiliated stations inVirginia(WTKRinNorfolk,WTVR-TVinRichmondandWDBJinRoanoke) elected to show the first game of a second round series between Seattle and theLakers.

Meanwhile, many CBS affiliates on the West Coast (such asKCBS-TVin Los Angeles andKPIX-TVin San Francisco) were able to broadcast at least a portion of the Chicago-Cleveland game. In Los Angeles, the hometown Lakers finished their game (started at the same time as the Chicago-Cleveland game) just in time for CBS to switch to the Chicago-Cleveland game, where, as it happened, Jordan made his game-winner. ThePortland Oregoniancriticized CBS for its decision to show Game 1 of the second round Seattle-Lakersseries in Portland onKOINrather than that game. Furthermore, CBS only broadcast the fifth game of the first-round series betweenAtlantaandMilwaukeenationally. The nationally televised Atlanta-Milwaukee game aired at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, while the regionally televised Chicago-Cleveland and Seattle/L.A. Lakers games aired at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Perhaps even more confusing, both Game 5 sites (Coliseum at RichfieldinClevelandandOmni ColiseuminAtlanta) were in the Eastern Time Zone, so differing local start times were not a factor. Previously, CBS aired Game 2 of the Chicago-Cleveland series nationally, while relegating Game 2 of the Atlanta-Milwaukee series to TBS. CBS used its primary announcing team,Dick StocktonandHubie Brownto call the latter game.

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
11-26-88 (Saturday)	Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit	8:30 p.m.
12-25-88 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakersvs.Utah	3:30 p.m.
1-15-89 (Sunday)	Bostonvs.Chicago	3:30 p.m.
1-22-89 (Sunday)	Detroit vs. Boston	noon
1-29-89 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakersvs.Dallas	1 p.m.
2-5-89 (Sunday)	Chicago vs. Detroit	2 p.m.
2-12-89 (Sunday)	NBA All-Star Game@ Houston (East vs. West)	3:15 p.m.
2-19-89 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:30 p.m.
2-20-89 (Monday)	Houstonvs.Cleveland	1:30 p.m.
2-26-89 (Sunday)	Boston vs. New York Knicks	2 p.m.
3-5-89 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston	3:30 p.m.
3-12-89 (Sunday)	Denvervs. Boston	noon
4-2-89 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Cleveland	1:30 p.m.
4-9-89 (Sunday)	Chicago vs.Atlanta	12:30 p.m.
4-16-89 (Sunday)	Chicago vs. Cleveland	1 p.m.
4-23-89 (Sunday)	Seattlevs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:30 p.m.

Resurgence of the NBA

Popular belief holds that the peak era of theNBA on CBSoccurred from1984to1987.During this period, CBS' NBA coverage was the beneficiary of a new era in the league that would forever link two of the game's greatest players,Larry BirdandMagic Johnson.Bird and Johnson entered the NBA (coming off playing against each other in the highest-ratedNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championshipof all time), respectively playing for the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers and Celtics, two iconic teams in large television markets, rose to prominence during the period; many credit the theatrics of Bird and Johnson with boosting the overall popularity of the NBA (especially during the tape delay era of NBA telecasts). Within three years of Johnson and Bird entering the league, the NBA had aGame of the Weekon CBS, and ratings for Finals games approached levels rivaling those of theWorld Series.

Before the Bird/Magic era, CBS used to televise approximately five to seven games regionally per week in a doubleheader format (1:45 and 4 p.m. Eastern Time) on Sundays.Ratingsfor regional were far outdrawn byNBC's college basketball coverageandABC'sSuperstarsprogram. After ratings bottomed out in 1980 and 1981, coinciding with CBS airing tape-delayed coverage, the network decided to scrap the regional telecasts. In its place, CBS sold the marquee players and teams (for example, "Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers", "Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics" or "Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers" ) for a "Game of the Week"broadcast.

Memorable moments

During its tenure as the NBA 's broadcast network partner, CBS aired notable Finals series between theLos Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics,as well as both championships won by the "Bad Boy" -eraDetroit Pistons.

Ratings

Main articles:National Basketball Association on televisionandNBA Finals television ratings

In1976,CBS' regular season ratings earned an abysmal (by the standards of the time) 26 share on Sunday afternoons. In 1978, the deciding game of theNBA Finalsranked 442nd out of 730 shows from September 1, 1977 to August 31, 1978. The next highest-ratedplayoffgame in prime time only ranked 619th.

CBS' NBA ratings were also extremely low during the early part of the 1980s. In 1980, the 26 share from 1976 had fallen to 18%. Ratings fell to a level where, as mentioned before, CBS began airing games on tape delay. The1981 NBA Finalsset the standard for futility, with an average rating of 6.7, the lowest in NBA history until the2003 NBA Finalsaveraged a 6.5 onABC.

With the rebirth of theLakers–Celtics rivalry,ratings improved, especially in the three NBA Finals that the two teams played in. Between1981and1983,ratings for CBS' NBA telecasts rose by 12%. CBS' highest-rated NBA game (and the only NBA game that scored more than 20 rating points for the network) was Game 7 of the1988 NBA Finalsbetween the Lakers and the Detroit Pistons. By the end of its coverage, CBS' NBA ratings had been mostly respectable, with the lowest-rated Final after1982scoring 12.3 (three times), a mark higher than any NBA Final since1998.

The end ofThe NBA on CBS

On November 9, 1989, the NBA andNBCreached an agreement on a four-year, US$600 million contract (beginning in the1990–91 season).

The NBA ’s popularity was skyrocketing by the late 1980s andCommissionerDavid Sternwanted more exposure. This meant that he wanted more than 15 games a year shown on network television. However, CBS didn’t have the room to broadcast double and triple headers every Sunday like NBC could because of theirNFLandcollege basketballcoverage.Additionally, CBS had recently signed deals withMajor League Baseballand theWinter Olympics,making it even more difficult to accommodate the NBA ’s request for more over the air telecasts. All in all, CBS was pretty much destined to cut ties with the NBA by 1990.

From 1986 to its final year in 1990, CBS paid about US$47 million per year for the NBA broadcast contract. The final NBA game that CBS televised to date was Game 5 of theNBA Finalsbetween theDetroit PistonsandPortland Trail Blazerson June 14, 1990. The Pistons won 92–90 to clinch their second consecutiveNBA Championship.

As the soundtrack for their goodbye montage, CBS used "The Last Waltz"byThe BandandMarvin Gaye's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner"from the1983 NBA All-Star Game,endingCBS Sports' relationship with the NBA after 17 years.

CBS broadcast all five NBA Finals involving Larry Bird, all four NBA Finals involving Julius Erving, nine of the ten involvingKareem Abdul-Jabbar(the1971 NBA Finalswere on ABC), and eight of the nine NBA Finals involving Magic Johnson (thefollowing year's Finalswere Johnson's last, Michael Jordan's first, and the first to be broadcast by NBC).

Before the closing montage, CBS's final NBA game broadcast ended with this sign-off byDick Stockton:

Well, I guess now the time has come. This is our last game as many of you may know. And it's really the end of a 17-year love affair between CBS and the NBA. For every member of our broadcast team and I mean technicians, and cameramen, production people, the terrifically talented folks in the truck, where it all happens, and of course...the commentators, this has been an extraordinary experience. We've witnessed the careers of Julius Erving, and Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. We've seen Michael Jordan take flight. All the players actually...fired the imagination not only for an entire generation of NBA fans but for all of us at CBS. We know we leave the NBA in good hands. But toIsiahandHakeemandPatrickandDavid Robinson,to all the players, coaches...and you the viewers, we're going to miss all of you. So long!

1989-90 regular season

Date	Teams	Time (EST)
11-25-89 (Saturday)	Chicagovs.Golden State	3:30 p.m.
12-25-89 (Monday)	Clevelandvs.Atlanta	3:30 p.m.
1-21-90 (Sunday) -Double Header	Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston	noon
	New York Knicks vs. Chicago	2:30 p.m.
1-28-90 (Sunday)	Phoenixvs.Boston	12:30 p.m.
2-4-90 (Sunday)	Utahvs.Detroit	1 p.m.
2-11-90 (Sunday)	NBA All-Star Gameat Miami (West vs East)	3 p.m.
2-18-90 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:30 p.m.
2-19-90 (Monday)	Houstonvs.Chicago	1:30 p.m.
2-25-90 (Sunday)	Detroitvs.New York Knicks	noon
3-4-90 (Sunday)	Chicago vs.Boston	2 p.m.
3-11-90 (Sunday)	Los Angeles Lakersvs.Atlanta	noon
4-1-90 (Sunday)	Utahvs. Los Angeles Lakers	3:30 p.m.
4-8-90 (Sunday)	Detroitvs.Cleveland	noon
4-15-90 (Sunday)	New York Knicks vs. Boston	1 p.m.
4-22-90 (Sunday)	Boston vs. Philadelphia	1 p.m.

Future

In May 2007, the NBA renewed its television contract withESPN,making ABC the broadcast television home of the NBA through 2016. On October 6, 2014, ESPN and the NBA renewed their agreement through 2025.CBS has implied that it is unlikely to bid on further sports rights beyond those it already holds, including the NBA, because of the extensive investment it has made into its existing sports portfolio (especiallycollege basketball).

On August 30, 2012, theCBS Sports Networksigned a deal with theNBA Development Leagueto televise 12 regular games, as well as the 2013 NBA D-League Playoffs and Finals.On April 22, 2019, CBS Sports Network signed a deal with theWomen's National Basketball Association(W NBA ) to televise 40 regular season games.

Announcers

Brent Musburger

Musburger was involved in every NBA Finals (either as a play-by-play announcer or as a host) from1975to1989(with 1981 being the lone exception), and was the lead voice for NBA games on CBS for much of that period. From1975to1980,Musburger worked with a variety ofanalystsfor regular season games (includingBilly Cunningham,Mendy Rudolph,Hot Rod Hundley,Oscar Robertson,Steve Jones,Tom Heinsohnand Rick Barry). Musburger called Game 5 of the1976 NBA Finals,with Rick Barry and sideline reporters Mendy Rudolph and Sonny Hill. After 1980, Musburger became the lead studio host and secondary play-by-play announcer. With the latter role, Musburger worked alongsideKevin Loughery(1983-1984), Hubie Brown (1985), Billy Cunningham (1986-1987), Tom Heinsohn (1988) andBill Raftery(1989), and called the other conference final not assigned toDick Stockton's team on CBS from 1983 to 1989. Musburger was fired from CBS following the1990 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game,a few months before its contract with the NBA ended. However, he later resumed calling NBA games onESPN Radioand later withESPNthrough 2006.

Dick Stockton

Dick Stocktonwas the lead voice ofThe NBA on CBSfrom1981to1990.After CBS failed in an attempt to compete withNBC'scollege basketballannouncing team ofDick Enberg,Billy PackerandAl McGuirewith Gary Bender (who was subsequently "promoted" to a play-by-play position onCBS' newly acquired college basketball package), Rick Barry andBill Russell,Stockton became the voice of the NBA. Working with Tom Heinsohn (who was criticizedby the media and viewers for being too biased to the Boston Celtics, a team he once played for and later coached) from1983to1987,Stockton called some of the most memorable NBA Finals in league history. In1984,1985and1987,the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics played each other in the NBA Finals, and Stockton's broadcasts became the highest rated in NBA history at that time.

Stockton would call the NBA Finals through the rest of the 1980s and in1990as well, working the1988 NBA Finalswith Billy Cunningham and the1989and 1990 NBA Finals with Hubie Brown (after Cunningham left CBS Sports to accept a management job with the newMiami Heat). After CBS' run with the NBA ended, Brown moved toTurner Sportsto fill the same role. Stockton would not call another NBA game until1995,when he also joined Turner. Stockton and Brown would occasionally be paired together onTBSandTNTuntil2002,when Brown was hired to coach theMemphis Grizzlies.Stockton continued to call NBA games with Turner until 2012.

Other personalities

CBS employed many NBA greats during its 17 years as the lead network carrier; Bill Russell was an analyst for several years, mainly in the 1970s and early 1980s.Elgin Baylorwas an analyst during CBS' inaugural year in1973–1974,and was fired during that year's playoffs due to what CBS considered a lackluster performance. He was replaced by another NBA great,Rick Barry,who held a fairly consistent role with CBS through the 1970s and early 1980s, including calling several NBA Finals.Steve "Snapper" Jones,best known from theNBA on NBC,was part of CBS' broadcast teams, partnering with Don Criqui in1975–1976and1976–1977.

During Game 5 of the1981 NBA Finals,CBS posted an old photo ofBill Russell,who was on the announcing team with Gary Bender and Rick Barry, on the1956 Olympic team.Bender asked Barry, "Who do you think that is in the picture?" Barry answered:

I don't know, it looks like some fool with that big watermelon grin back there!

Some considered Barry's comments to be racially insensitive. Barry was adamant that they were taken out of context, but CBS did not renew his contract for thesubsequent season.Russell stayed on with new play-by-play announcer Dick Stockton for two seasons before giving way to former Celtics teammate Tom Heinsohnfor the 1983–84 season.

CBS often used the same analysts for both theNBA playoffsandNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.Tom Heinsohn, Billy Cunningham,and Hubie Brown all worked NCAA Regional rounds during years when they also served as the lead NBA analyst for CBS. Billy Packer worked NBA playoff games in1987and1988,while he was CBS' lead college basketball analyst.

As previously mentioned, during the1984 NBA Finals,Lesley Visser (wife of leadNBA on CBSplay-by-play announcer Dick Stockton) became the first woman to cover an NBA Finals. She joined CBS Sports part-time in 1984 before joining full-time in 1987. When she was part-time with CBS, she still worked for theBoston Globe,as she had many diverse assignments with the newspaper. Visser became the first female NBA beat writer in 1976, when she was assigned to cover the Boston Celtics. Visser resigned from theGlobein late 1988.

While Brent Musburger did host most of CBS' NBA Finals pregame and halftime programs,Pat O'Brienhosted a pregame show during the earlier rounds of the playoffs calledThe Basketball Show.O'Brien, working with analyst Bill Raftery, also hosted thePrudentialAt The Half.When Musburger left CBS Sports in April 1990, O'Brien took over theNBA Finals(the last that CBS did) hosting duties full-time. In1988and1989,Pat O'Brien filled-in for Brent Musburger (who was busy covering theCollege World Seriesfor CBS) as the NBA Finals anchor for Game 2.

List of broadcasters

See also:List of NBA Finals broadcastersandList of NBA All-Star Game broadcasters

Hubie Brown James Brown Quinn Buckner Charlsie Cantey Jane Chastain Doug Collins Bob Costas Don Criqui Irv Cross Billy Cunningham

Terry Dischinger Eddie Doucette Len Elmore Keith Erickson Frank Glieber Jim Gray Jerry Gross Greg Gumbel John Havlicek Tom Heinsohn Sonny Hill Rod Hundley Steve "Snapper" Jones Andrea Joyce

Sonny Jurgensen Jim Karvellas Jim Kelly Stu Lantz Kevin Loughery Verne Lundquist Pete Maravich Jon McGlocklin Dick Motta Jeff Mullins Brent Musburger Andy Musser Jim Nantz Pat O'Brien Billy Packer Mike Patrick Bill Raftery

Cal Ramsey Oscar Robertson Mendy Rudolph Bill Russell Cazzie Russell Tim Ryan Lynn Shackelford Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder Larry Steele Dick Stockton Pat Summerall Lesley Visser Jerry West Jack Whitaker Lenny Wilkens

Announcing teams

1981–1982

1. Dick Stockton andBill Russell
2. Frank Glieber and Hubie Brown
3. Jim KellyandDoug Collins
4. Eddie Doucetteand Kevin Loughery

1982–1983 Dick Stockton and Bill Russell Brent Musburger and Kevin Loughery Frank Glieber and Doug Collins Jim Kelly andBill Raftery

1983–1984 Dick StocktonandTom Heinsohn Brent MusburgerandKevin Loughery Gary BenderandDoug Collins Frank GlieberandJames Brown

1984–1985 Dick Stockton and Tom Heinsohn Brent Musburger andHubie Brown Gary Bender and Doug Collins Frank Glieber and James Brown

1985–1986 Dick Stockton and Tom Heinsohn Brent Musburger and Billy Cunningham Gary Bender and Hubie Brown Jim Nantz/Mike Patrickand Doug Collins

Jim Nantz called three games for CBS, all regional telecasts. 1986–1987 Dick Stockton and Tom Heinsohn Brent Musburger and Billy Cunningham Verne Lundquistand Hubie Brown Tim BrantandBilly Packer

1987–1988 Dick Stockton and Billy Cunningham Brent Musburger and Tom Heinsohn Verne Lundquist and Hubie Brown Tim Brant and Billy Packer

1988–1989 Dick Stockton and Hubie Brown Brent Musburger andBill Raftery Verne Lundquist and Tom Heinsohn Greg GumbelandQuinn Buckner

1989–1990 Dick Stockton and Hubie Brown Verne Lundquist andLen Elmore James Brown and Tom Heinsohn Greg Gumbel and Quinn Buckner

CBS NBA Final announcers

Year	Play-by-Play	Color
1990	Dick Stockton	Hubie Brown
1989	Dick Stockton	Hubie Brown
1988	Dick Stockton	Billy Cunningham
1987	Dick Stockton	Tom Heinsohn
1986	Dick Stockton	Tom Heinsohn
1985	Dick Stockton	Tom Heinsohn
1984	Dick Stockton	Tom Heinsohn
1983	Dick Stockton	Bill Russell
1982	Dick Stockton	Bill Russell
1981	Gary Bender	Bill Russell andRick Barry
1980	Brent Musburger	Rod Hundleyand Bill Russell
1979	Brent Musburger	Rick Barry and Rod Hundley
1978	Brent Musburger	Rick Barry andJohn Havlicek
1977	Brent Musburger	Rick BarryandSteve Jones
1976	Brent Musburger	Mendy Rudolphand Rick Barry
1975	Brent Musburger	Oscar Robertson
1974	Pat Summerall	Rick Barry and Rod Hundley

Christmas Day broadcasters

CBS broadcast aChristmas Daygame each year from1975to1989with the exception of1982.

Year	Teams	Play-by-play	Color commentator(s)
1975	Kansas CityatPhoenix	Don Criqui	Mendy Rudolph
1976	ChicagoatKansas City	Don Criqui	Billy Cunningham
1977	WashingtonatPhiladelphia	Don Criqui	Steve Jones
1978	PhiladelphiaatNew York	Brent Musburger	Keith Erickson
1979	PhiladelphiaatWashington	Gary Bender	Rod Hundley
1980	Boston vs. New York	Gary Bender	Bill RussellandRick Barry
1981	Los Angeles LakersatPhoenix	Dick Stockton	Bill Russell
1983	New Jersey vs. New York	Dick Stockton	Tom Heinsohn
1984	PhiladelphiaatDetroit	Dick Stockton	Tom Heinsohn
1985	Boston vs. New York	Dick Stockton	Tom Heinsohn
1986	Chicago vs. New York	Dick Stockton	Tom Heinsohn
1987	DetroitatNew York	Dick Stockton	Billy Cunningham
1988	Los Angeles LakersatUtah	Dick Stockton	Hubie Brown
1989	ClevelandatAtlanta	Dick Stockton	Hubie Brown

Theme music

Through the 1973–74 to 1975–76 seasons, as well as for most of the 1978–79 season, thetheme musicforThe NBA on CBSincorporated lyrics; "Last Night"byThe Mar-Keyswas used roughly around 1975–76 as the play-by-play announcer would give a preview to the featured game.

Starting in 1977, CBS used an alternate opening showing a montage of still pictures of current NBA star athletes with music (similar to the music used by the network for itsNFL coverageat that time) accompanying it. In 1980, CBS used rotoscoped animation in silhouette of one player shooting a jumpshot and the ball in mid-air rolling all the NBA teams as it spun in the air, set todisco–pop–moogmusic. During the 1978–79 season, the music for the highlights was "Chase",composed byGiorgio Moroderas the theme for the movieMidnight Express.The opening guitar and horn riff of theChicagohit "Alive Again"were used for the highlights prior to the opening animation during the 1979–80 and 1980–81 seasons.

By the1983 NBA Finals,the opening sequence was set in a primitive computer-generated montage of basketball action inside a virtual arena that was similar in resemblance to theBoston Garden.This opening sequence (which was usually intertwined by a montage of live basketball action complete with narration) was created by Bill Feigenbaum, who also created a similar open forThe NFL Todayused around the same time.This opening melody (mostly consisting of an uptempo series of four notes and threebarseach) from1983to1988was composed by Allyson Bellinkand is generally considered to be the most familiar theme music thatThe NBA on CBSused.

For the1989 NBA Finals,CBS completely revamped the opening montage. The computer-generated imagery (once again set in and around a virtual arena) was made to look more realistic (live-action footage was incorporated in the backdrops). Also, the familiar theme music was rearrangedto sound more intricate and to have a more emotional impact, along the lines of the network's laterWorld Seriescoverage. Between the 1989 NBA Finals and the1990 NBA Finals' intros, the theme music was slightly revised; the 1989 Finals intro incorporated more of a guitar riff, while the 1990 Finals intro featured a little more usage of trumpets.

On-screen graphics

During the late 1980s, the time and score graphicappeared at the bottom of the screen after each score for only a few seconds, and when the shot clock was running down CBS provided a small blue graphic in the left portion of the screen that showed the clock running out. Also, when the game clock ran inside of two minutes, CBS would display the clock in the lower right-hand portion of the screen.

Miscellaneous coverage

CBS Radio's coverage

From roughly the1963–64through the1965–66seasons, theCBS Radio Networkbroadcast NBA games with commentators Jerry Gross andJack Buck.

W NBA on CBS

On April 22, 2019, CBS Sports Network and theW NBAstruck a dealto televise 40 games in primetime and on weekends during the2019 season.The games broadcast on CBS from local broadcasts already airing on the W NBA ’s streaming site,W NBA League Pass.

On June 19, 2021, CBS broadcasta W NBA game between theConnecticut SunandChicago SkywithLisa Byingtonproviding the play-by-play andLisa Leslieproviding analysis. On June 26, 2021, CBS broadcast a game between theWashington MysticsandDallas Wings.The two games on CBS on June 19 and 26 averaged about 427,000 and 567,000 viewersrespectively.

Initially, most games were broadcast via clean feeds provided by the league and the home team's regional broadcaster. Beginning in the 2024 season, the games carried on the CBS network are now produced in-house by CBS Sports, with the clean feed productions now used solely for games on CBS Sports Network.

Statistics

Games televised / television contracts per season (CBS)

Season	1973–74	1974–75	1975–76	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90
Games	40	37	40	40	40	38	36	40	40	26	32	32	33	38	42	36	45
Contracts	$27 million/3 years			$21 million/2 years		$74 million/4 years				$91.9 million/4 years				$173 million/4 years

External links

• Official website
• The NBA on CBSatIMDb
• W NBA on CBSat CBSSports