`Inside the NBA’ making the most of its 1st appearance in the finals

Ernie Johnson has seen many iconic moments in 34 years as host of 鈥淚nside the NBA.鈥�

However, nothing might top doing the postgame show Wednesday night from center court at Madison Square Garden after the New York Knicks made the to beat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the best. None of the fans are leaving. They just want to soak this whole thing in. It was like a college atmosphere. And then to do the show right there with that energy going on, that鈥檚 why you do it,鈥� Johnson said.

Who knows how many signature moments are left in the series, but the quartet of Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O鈥橬eal and Kenny Smith is certainly enjoying anchoring pregame, halftime and postgame NBA Finals coverage for the first time.

鈥淚nside the NBA鈥� moved to ESPN and ABC this season under a licensing agreement with TNT Sports, following Warner Bros. Discovery鈥檚 inability to retain NBA rights.

The show鈥檚 addition has elevated ESPN and ABC鈥檚 NBA coverage just as Joe Buck and Troy Aikman鈥檚 arrival in 2022 took 鈥淢onday Night Football鈥� to another level.

The series resumes with the Knicks one win away from their first NBA title since 1973. Johnson will present the Lawrence O鈥橞rien trophy at the end of the finals. If the Spurs stave off elimination, Johnson presenting the trophy to the Knicks at home after a Game 6 win on Tuesday could surpass the bedlam from the comeback.

鈥淭he transition has been seamless, and it鈥檚 been a wonderful year together. Having Ernie, Chuck, Shaq and Kenny anchor our NBA Finals coverage, in tandem with our outstanding game broadcast team, has elevated our entire presentation,鈥� said Burke Magnus, ESPN鈥檚 president of content.

鈥淚nside the NBA鈥� has a 90-minute pregame show, with the first hour on ESPN before shifting over to ABC. The postgame show begins on ESPN as soon as ABC’s coverage ends and goes at least an hour.

Mike Breen, who is calling his record 21st finals, has enjoyed having 鈥淚nside the NBA鈥� serve as a lead-in to coverage.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e must-see TV even after all these years. They have so much fun, and because of their status in the league, what they say really matters,鈥� Breen said. 鈥淎nd then you have somebody like Ernie Johnson who runs the whole thing. I don鈥檛 know if there鈥檚 another person in our industry I respect more.鈥�

Same show, different network

Because TNT didn鈥檛 have the NBA Finals, 鈥淚nside the NBA鈥濃€榮 season would end at the conference finals. Johnson said it felt different when he arrived at the arena in San Antonio before Game 1 on June 3.

鈥淚 haven鈥檛 felt like that on a game day in a long time. I was excited to be there and heading to the arena. I left earlier than planned because I didn鈥檛 want to sit around anymore,鈥� he said. 鈥淒oing that in San Antonio and then going to New York to be in the middle of that scene was so cool. I think we are trying to make our show match the energy in the building. And I think we did that.鈥�

鈥淓verybody鈥檚 swinging by and shaking hands and patting us on the back. It鈥檚 surreal. We鈥檙e honored to be part of this. And it鈥檚 just been an amazing series.鈥�

What also makes it special is that this is also the first NBA Finals for most of the show鈥檚 production crew, many of whom have been with 鈥淚nside the NBA鈥� since the start.

Even though 鈥淚nside the NBA鈥� airs on ESPN and ABC, TNT Sports still produces the show from Atlanta. It鈥檚 still irreverent at times and isn鈥檛 afraid to pull punches 鈥� as evidenced by Barkley鈥檚 criticism of the Spurs after Game 4, where he called them 鈥渢he dumbest basketball team in the history of civilization.鈥�

Barkley added, 鈥淲hen you blow a 29-point lead, the other team has to help you. The San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game by doing some of the stupid-ass stuff I鈥檝e seen on a basketball court.鈥�

For those who worried that the show wouldn鈥檛 be the same on ESPN, those fears have gone out the window throughout the season. ESPN even bought into some of the show鈥檚 humor by doing an ad with Johnson singing a song by DMX.

鈥淭here was never a 鈥楬ey, you guys can鈥檛 do that anymore.鈥� It was just 鈥楴o, do your thing.鈥� And we鈥檝e had the freedom to do that,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淭he great thing is we have access to all these ESPN resources with pregame pieces and reporters. It’s been a great deal for everybody involved.鈥�

Successful finals for ABC

Wednesday night鈥檚 comeback averaged 20.9 million viewers and peaked at 23.2 million for the conclusion. According to Nielsen, it was the most-viewed Game 4 since ABC started showing the finals in 2003.

The series is averaging 19.6 million viewers, a 116% jump from last year鈥檚 matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers. It is on pace to be the most-watched series since 1998, when the Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz in six games.

The Game 3 pregame averaged 9.9 million viewers, a record

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