NBC’s efforts to expand its Sunday night NFL success into its new NBA programming partnership will get a boost for its first Sunday night edition, from a superstar athlete who isn’t even in the NBA.
NBC announced that WNBA guard Caitlin Clark will join NBC Sports as a special contributor on Feb. 1 for the debut of “Basketball Night in America,” the network’s new NBA pregame show, on Sunday nights. She will be an analyst on the pregame show, starting at 6 p.m. ET, before the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, which begins at 7 p.m.
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The second game of the evening will feature a playoff rematch between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets in Denver at 9:30 p.m.
Clark joins the studio team, consisting of host Maria Taylor and three Basketball Hall of Famers Naismith, Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter, for in-studio analysis.
āIām really excited to be a part of the Basketball Night in America team this season,ā Clark said in the release. “Carmelo, Vince and Tracy are legends of the game and Maria is a true professional. It will be really fun to join them several times this season.”
Clark is widely considered one of the faces of women’s basketball. She is a two-time WNBA All-Star, a 2024 All-WNBA First Team selection and the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year after being selected No. 1 overall in that year’s draft following one of the greatest college careers in men’s or women’s basketball.
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The former University of Iowa point guard has an illustrious collegiate career dotted with milestones. She became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I history (3,951) for either men or women and won two Naismith College Player of the Year awards (2023, 2024), two AP College Player of the Year awards (2023, 2024), the AP Female Athlete of the Year award (2024) and was a three-time unanimous member of the inaugural All-American team (2022, 2023, 2024).
Clark will return to the show on Sunday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City when the Thunder host the Knicks.
Analysis by Andrew Marchand
This is an inspired move by NBC to add Caitlin Clark as a special contributor to its NBA coverage. If you want to be different and potentially add some eyeballs, Clark is a good place to start.
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It’s very difficult for pregame shows to stand out in a world where “Inside the NBA” has dominated for years. Although the addition of Michael Jordan was big hat, no cattle, Clark’s decision could have other dividends.
She was injured last year, but she could still become basketball’s biggest star. Wouldn’t you want to have a strong, long-term relationship with this person? NBC not only has the NBA, but also the WNBA.
The most interesting aspect of this setup is: Where does the Clark-NBC relationship go from here?
This article was originally published in Athletics.
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