Kevin Harlan will be on the play-by-play call for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Unfortunately, Friday night’s broadcast could be one of the last NBA games the veteran broadcaster calls for TNT.
Amid reports that NBC outbid Warner Bros. Discovery for its NBA rights package in the league’s next media deal, Harlan appeared on the show “SI Media with Jimmy Traina“podcast to discuss TNT’s potential loss to the NBA after a nearly 40-year partnership and how that development could affect his broadcasting career.
“There’s nothing I can do, so I guess my immediate feeling is that I want to do the best job I can right now,” said Harlan, who has called broadcasts for TNT since 1996. “I control the things I can control and that’s my performance and do the best I can for the next ones, no matter how many games we have left in this series.
Harlan went on to explain how important the NBA is to him as it was the first sport he worked in outside of college, calling broadcasts for the Kansas City Kings.
During his career, Harlan was also the lead announcer on Timberwolves television broadcasts for the franchise’s first nine seasons of existence, from 1989 to 1998. The team recently honored Harlan before Game 4 of their 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 his 35th anniversary celebration. pic.twitter.com/SBF58tgonf
– Horrible advertisement (@awfulannunciando) May 13, 2024
It’s possible, if not likely, that Harlan will be billed as a top play-by-play voice for NBC or Amazon when those outlets begin airing NBA games with the 2025-26 season. He calls the NFL and NCAA tournaments for CBS (and for Westwood One on radio), and while working for both CBS and NBC may seem unusual for a broadcaster, it would be for two different sports.
However, Harlan is a beloved voice for both basketball and football fans. NBC or Amazon hiring him to call NBA games would seem like an easy decision. But broadcasting is a business and contracts may not be so simple, especially when they could involve a rival air network. However, Harlan hopes to continue calling NBA games.
“I’d be lying if I said the NBA didn’t have a very special place in my heart.” Harlan told Traina“And I hope that somehow it continues with Turner and if not with Turner, we will let fate guide me.”
