As the Western Conference Finals are about to start, the NBA playoffs are down to four teams. The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Minnesota Timberwolves for Game 1 on Tuesday. Only two days after their Game 7 win over the Denver Nuggets to advance.
It’s ESPN’s turn to broadcast the Western Conference Finals. The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers will be TNT’s last playoff series on its broadcast. That means expect the worldwide leader in sports to send out their biggest stars to OKC and Minnesota.
ESPN announced that their pregame show and NBA Today show will travel with the Western Conference Finals. Media personalities like Stephen A. Smith and Bob Myers will step foot in OKC for the first time in years as the entire NBA world shifts its attention to the playoff series.
As most know, Myers was the Golden State Warriors’ general manager and helped build their 2010s dynasty. He left the NBA and transitioned to an ESPN role in 2023. Kendrick Perkins will also be in OKC. He was part of the Thunder from 2011-15.
“‘NBA Countdown’ and ESPN/ABC’s NBA pregame show, will hit the road for on-site broadcasts throughout the Western Conference Finals,” ESPN Press Room said in a release. “Malika Andrews hosts ‘NBA Countdown’ with analysts Stephen A. Smith, two-time NBA Executive of the Year Bob Myers, 2008 NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins and ESPNSenior NBA Insider Shams Charania.”
Other personalities will also be in OKC through the first two games of the playoff series and a possible Games 5 and 7 if it reaches that point against the Timberwolves. ESPN will send its heavy hitters to cover the series.
“‘NBA Today’ – ESPN’s weekday NBA studio show – is also hitting the road for live shows on ESPN, Monday through Friday during the Western Conference Finals,” ESPN Press Room said in a release. “Malika Andrews also hosts ‘NBA Today’ with a cast of industry-leading analysts and reporters, including Kendrick Perkins, Chiney Ogwumike and Brian Windhorst. ‘NBA Today’ airs from 3-4 p.m.”
Being a small market, Thunder fans are hopefully ready to be the center of the sports universe for a handful of days. If the Thunder beat the Timberwolves and make the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012, the attention will only multiply tenfold with media outlets across the globe gathered at OKC.
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