Pacers legend Reggie Miller sat courtside in Indianapolis for Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Twenty-five years after he led the Pacers to their last Finals appearance, Miller watched as a fan as the Pacers won Game 3 before ultimately falling to the Thunder in an epic seven-game series.
“I’ve always been a big proponent of David and Goliath and having the smaller markets being able to compete on the biggest stage,” Miller said last week. “To have a Finals between OKC and Indiana, and the type of Finals that was put on … it was remarkable to see and be a part of.”
Miller will get another up-close look at the Thunder at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, ditching his Pacers garb for his TV headset as the Thunder hosts the Rockets in the season opener — a game that marks NBC’s first NBA broadcast since 2002.
“Roundball Rock” is back.
NBC’s lead team of play-by-play man Mike Tirico, analysts Miller and Jamal Crawford and sideline reporter Zora Stephenson will call the game. Maria Taylor will host an on-site pregame show with Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter.
NBC hosted a conference call last week with Tirico, Miller, Crawford and executive producer Sam Flood.
Here are a few highlights:
Order our new book on the Thunder’s road to NBA title
Reggie Miller compares SGA, Thunder to Michael Jordan, Bulls
Reggie Miller, like the rest of the Eastern Conference, was on the wrong side of the 1990s Bulls dynasty. Miller’s Pacers lost to Michael Jordan’s “Last Dance” Bulls in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals.
“Are we seeing the formation of maybe a young Chicago Bulls team here in OKC with Shai being a la MJ and J-Dub being a la Scottie Pippen? Chet, Rodman? They have the makeup, the coaching pedigree. They’re very deep,” Miller said. “And from everything I’ve been reading and watching, they seem very hungry.”
Miller joined NBC after 19 years at TNT, which lost the rights to broadcast NBA games.
Reggie Miller likes Thunder’s chances to repeat
The 2016-17 and 2017-18 Warriors were the last team to repeat as NBA champions.
The Thunder is in prime position to become the next.
“I love their chances of repeating,” Miller said.
Miller, said the Thunder’s gutsy Game 4 win at Indiana — when OKC sidestepped a 3-1 hole — “unlocked something.”
“And that’s scary for a league when you have such a young team that’s that hungry, well-coached and even-keeled,” Miller added. “I love their chances.”
Tirico excited to call NBA games again
Mike Tirico called NBA games for 14 years, mostly alongside analyst Hubie Brown, during his time at ESPN.
Tirico, who left ESPN for NBC in 2016, is excited to be back courtside.
“The NBA is like no other sport in terms of excitement, energy, the greatest athletes, front-row seats for those of us who get to broadcast the games, and I could not be more excited for next Tuesday in Oklahoma City as they raise the banner and get this started,” Tirico said.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.