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As part of the NBA’s continued push into global markets, the league will collaborate with new partner Amazon to broadcast eight Saturday afternoon games that will air in primetime overseas, it was revealed today. With the league in serious talks with stakeholders, club teams and banks over a proposed NBA Europe, the idea is to keep flooding that continent with programming. The eight games will purposely feature international stars such as Victor Wembanyama, whose Spurs will play in four of the Saturday matinees. “All intentional,” said Jeff Kaiser, Prime Video’s head of U.S. sports programming. “…We’re an NBA global partner. Our games will be distributed worldwide this season." One of the key metrics that drew the NBA to Amazon Prime Video -- resulting in an 11-year, annual $1.9B package -- was its global capability. The network is available in more than 240 countries and territories, and, when negotiating the deal, sources have repeatedly said Prime Video’s reach gave the streaming platform a significant advantage over Turner.
Lakers, Warriors, Thunder lead the way with 34 nationally televised games apiece
Brett Siegel: Number of National TV games for 2025-26 NBA season (ESPN, ABC, NBC, & Amazon): Atlanta: 13, Boston: 25, Brooklyn: 2, Charlotte: 3, Chicago: 3, Cleveland: 24, Dallas: 23, Denver: 26, Detroit: 16, Golden State: 34, Houston: 28, Indiana: 9, Los Angeles Clippers: 21, Los Angeles Lakers: 34, Memphis: 10, Miami: 5, Milwaukee: 18, Minnesota: 28, New Orleans: 2, New York: 34, Oklahoma City: 34, Orlando: 14, Philadelphia: 14, Phoenix: 9, Portland: 8, Sacramento: 9, San Antonio: 22, Toronto: 2, Utah: 2, Washington: 2
Josh Robbins: The Orlando Magic are scheduled to play a total of six games on either NBC or ESPN: + Nov. 4 at Atlanta on NBC + Nov. 12 at New York on ESPN + Nov. 25 at Philly on NBC + March 11 vs. Cleveland on ESPN + March 24 at Cleveland on NBC + April 1 vs. Atlanta on ESPN. The Magic are scheduled to have eight other games on either Peacock or Amazon Prime.
Not on the list is Allie LaForce, who was TNT’s lead NBA sideline reporter in recent years. Dylan Byers of Puck reported last year that NBC was expected to “make an aggressive play” for her services. LaForce was also not included on the Amazon roster that was announced last month.
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Dwyane Wade joins Amazon Prime Video as in-game and studio analyst
Dwyane Wade is excited to be part of a new, star-studded team that will help Amazon kick off its relationship with the NBA this fall. The Basketball Hall of Famer will serve as an in-game and studio analyst when Prime Video launches its inaugural season of NBA coverage in October.
Tim Reynolds: Wednesday: Amazon exclusively reveals groups for Emirates NBA Cup 2025. Video with NBA on Prime analyst Blake Griffin and Chet Holmgren of the NBA champion Thunder posts at Noon ET at @NBAonPrime across X, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Facebook. Also: 'Sports on Prime' YouTube.
What I slowly started to realize was: they had no idea what they bought. Zero idea—in terms of financials, books, future three- to five-year plans. How this works. How this functions. The broadcast part of it especially. I bring that up because the broadcast part links directly to that bonus situation. They bought the team and didn’t realize there was going to be this gap year before Amazon jumps in—where we're actually going to lose money on broadcast, no matter what. They got in, they had big plans early on, and then someone tapped on the door and said: ‘Um, did you know we're going to lose tens of millions of dollars on broadcast this year, just because of syncing and we aren’t on Amazon yet?’ And they did not know that. And everything changed from then."
Jovan Buha: First — no, I was not fired by The Athletic. My contract was set to expire in August, and I intentionally structured it that way to become a free agent this summer. It’s a big summer with major movement on the NBA media side, with NBC and Amazon entering the mix. I wanted that freedom and flexibility. Around December or January, I started really thinking about what I wanted next. The more I thought about it, the more I enjoyed speaking into this microphone, doing these episodes, and connecting with you all during these lives. And the less I was enjoying the beat life — the writing. For me, two big things looking ahead were: I wanted to take the next step and level up, and I wanted to travel less and write less. I wanted to focus more on podcasting, TV, and digital multimedia content. That includes continuing Buha’s Block, building out my YouTube channel, and prioritizing content creation over the grind of beat reporting.
Jovan Buha: No, I was not fired by the Athletic. My contract was set to expire in August and I intentionally structured my contract to be a free agent this summer because it is a big summer with NBA movement on the media side with the new TV players of NBC and Amazon, coming into the mix. So, I wanted to have that freedom and flexibility for this summer. So, around December, January, I really started to think about that and where I wanted to be. And the more I thought about it, the more I was enjoying this and speaking into this microphone and doing these episodes and doing these lives with you guys.
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LeBron James eventually joining Amazon's upcoming coverage of the NBA?
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire between LeBron James and Amazon. The growing business relationship between the basketball superstar and the nation’s largest retailer could lead to King James eventually joining Prime Video’s upcoming coverage of the NBA, sources tell Front Office Sports. The 40-year-old James humorously teased retirement in a new “What’s Next?” commercial for Prime Day 2025 from July 8–11. James (who drew rave reviews for his costarring role in the 2015 comedy Trainwreck) collaborated closely with Prime on creating the 60-second commercial, from brainstorming comedic bits to picking Phil Collins hit “In the Air Tonight” for his lounge-singer spoof.
Mike Vorkunov: The NBA has considered launching a local League Pass, but that likely wouldn’t be until the 2026-27 season at the earliest. It has spoken to Amazon, Apple, YouTube, DAZN, Disney, and Peacock about that idea, and has also considered doing that itself through the NBA App.
Miles McBride: As I build my legacy off the court, I’m proud to announce my first children’s book! Deuce: The Champion of Friendship is available now on Amazon. Get yours now! 📚
As I build my legacy off the court, I’m proud to announce my first children’s book! Deuce: The Champion of Friendship is available now on Amazon. Get yours now! 📚 pic.twitter.com/06xH44Bbdv
— M11es McBride (@deucemcb11) June 18, 2025
The NBA has considered launching a local League Pass, but that likely wouldn’t be until the 2026-27 season at the earliest. It has spoken to Amazon, Apple, YouTube, DAZN, Disney, and Peacock about that idea, and has also considered doing that itself through the NBA App.
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