Kevin Harlan officially has a new NBA broadcasting home.
The iconic basketball broadcaster has signed with Amazon Prime Video to call NBA games beginning later this year, sources briefed on the move told The Athletic. The deal was signed in May and is believed to be three years.
Harlan joins the streamer after calling the NBA for Turner Sports from 1996 to 2025. The broadcaster was on the mic for Turner’s last-ever NBA broadcast on May 31 , as the company concluded its coverage of the Pacers-Knicks series. There have been many reports, including from the The Athletic, that Harlan was headed to Amazon Prime Video.
Now, pen has been put to paper.
In addition, Amazon Prime Video has added Brent Barry as a game analyst to its coverage. Barry has unique experience as a player (he played for the Clippers, Bulls, Heat, Spurs and Rockets over 14 years), broadcaster (for Turner Sports and NBA TV) and member of the front office (with the Spurs). This year, he served as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns.
Amazon Prime Video declined comment.
This fall, the NBA begins its new 11-year, $76 billion arrangements with incumbent ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime Video. You have probably seen a flurry of NBA on-air hires between Amazon Prime Video and NBC/Peacock.
Among those added by Amazon Prime Video are play-by-play announcers Ian Eagle and Michael Grady. The network’s analysts include Blake Griffin, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Candace Parker, Stan Van Gundy and Dwyane Wade. More analyst hires are expected. Cassidy Hubbarth will be Amazon’s No. 1 sideline reporter when it begins NBA coverage next season. Taylor Rooks will host the studio show.
What has not been reported yet is that Amazon Prime Video plans to mix and match its NBA game analysts between two- and three-person booths. For instance, you could see Harlan working with Van Gundy and Parker one night or Eagle working with, say, Nash and Parker the next. The thinking is, with so much game inventory, Amazon Prime Video would not be restricted with fixed on-air crews. The streamer is particularly high on Nash’s potential given his experience as a player and coach. Nash, Parker and Wade will all morph between the studio and game analyst work.
Amazon Prime Video has the rights to one of the 2027 NBA Conference Finals, and Eagle is expected to be the lead play play voice for that postseason series. The streamer internally does not distinguish between an “A” play-by-play person versus a “B” play-by-play person when it comes to the regular season, given the quality of Eagle and Harlan and how much game inventory Amazon has.
“With TNT losing the rights, and it’s very sad there, it clearly has made a sea change for most of us and navigating that is always a challenge,” Harlan told The Sports Media Podcast in February when discussing his possible future with Amazon Prime Video. “I am in my 60s and to have someone with a bright new shiny opportunity for someone at my stage of this career, which is dominated by younger broadcasters and incredibly talented people, to have them want me to join their roster is humbling and incredibly gratifying.”
Harlan remains with CBS Sports when it comes to calling the NFL. He said it was important to him to make sure his CBS Sports bosses were comfortable with whatever future arrangement he ultimately landed.
(Photo: Bree McGee / NBAE via Getty Images)
