It’s important to get one thing out of the way off the rip: Experiencing the NBA on NBC atmosphere once again is a tremendous deal.

Sure, the 2025-26 iteration could never dare dream of replicating the 1990s version, but a round of applause is well deserved for the effort. Incorporating Josh Tesh’s legendary “Roundball Rock” and elements of the old-school intro/theme is admirable.

Nevertheless, the nostalgia of Marv Albert or Bob Costas narrating a villain-esque intro during the Pat Riley days of Madison Square Garden cannot be matched.

Even with Costas leading the way, it just doesn’t feel the same — despite a well-deserved A+ for effort.

Such is life, I suppose.

It’s just not the same

Forget the broadcast sentiment for a moment — the actual game itself has transformed into an unrecognizable mess of sorts. Back in the day, jokes about Michael Jordan‘s extra steps and Patrick Ewing‘s giant extra leap in the lane were bandied about.

These days, jokes don’t even suffice when a travel happens on-screen.

Let’s not even dive into the lack of physicality and complete inability defenders have to guard on the perimeter, as doing so will just make all the 1990s old heads cry. Oh yeah, to some, the game that was once brutal beyond belief (no blood, no foul) has also turned into a mere 3-point competition with plenty of flipping and flopping.

How many of the younger NBA fans hate me right about now?

Good. I thrive on that venom — just as villain Jordan and the 1990s New York Knicks once did. Yet, I never take it personally.

Speaking of villains, 3-pointers, and flopping, there’s Reggie Miller. See, three decades ago, Miller’s 3-point shooting and flopping were unique. Not every NBA player majored in theatre back then.

These days, every hooper is a theater kid — doing their best to scream for a foul and practice head whiplashes backward — and the only thing worse is when the broadcast team leads the way on the dramatic front.

Yet NBA broadcast teams cannot get enough of shoving the association’s first theater kid down Knicks fans’ throats.

Enough, Reggie, enough

To be fair to NBC, this isn’t new. Not only did Knicks fans have to endure an Eastern Conference Finals loss to the hated Indiana Pacers in the Spring of 2025, but they also had to deal with Reggie Miller calling the games for TNT.

From Miller recounting the old days to moments with or about Knicks superfan Spike Lee, TNT jammed the nostalgia down our throats at every turn. As much as nostalgia sells, especially for the NBA, it’s tough to fully embrace when the sport is so drastically different.

More importantly, it’s tough for Knicks fans to handle when Miller’s allegiances are so transparent.

It’s not that Miller can’t be objective and professional when calling games; he can, and he often does. It boils down to the NBA’s first-ever theater kid not being able to contain himself when the moment strikes.

For instance, Miller, a man who never shies away from the spotlight, lost his mind on a LeBron James putback in the Knicks’ impressive 112-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.

A fan located immediately behind the NBC broadcast booth allowed his natural emotions to flow freely, resulting in a representation of how the great majority of Knicks fans feel.

If you don’t think Reggie loves sticking it to Knicks fans every now and then — particularly in a sly and impossible-to-prove-motivation fashion — you just don’t understand the man.

The wrong focus

It’s just too much. That’s all.

And again, it started well before this season. Even to this day, I’m not sure what was the bigger story of Game 1 of the ECF last spring: Tyrese Haliburton’s absurd shot that helped his Pacers’ extraordinary comeback, or Reggie Miller’s reaction to the moment.

TNT had no shame in making sure Miller was front and center.

In NBC’s defense, nothing Knicks-Reggie specific was showcased on Sunday night. Considering the Lakers are the opponent, and not the Pacers, it makes sense. There wasn’t anything of note in the Miller-highlighted production piece department.

Still, does it really matter?

Miller will, indeed, inject himself into the game no matter what. Somehow, some way, it will just happen, and he’s NBC’s No. 1 color commentator.

While sure, off-court storylines (even organic ones) have always been a significant part of the NBA — see Spike Lee in Game 5 of the 1994 ECF — these unfortunate series of events feel far too contrived.

Three decades ago, despite the added bonus the injected storylines provided, none were actually essential, as the on-court rivalry and hatred were real enough to represent enough substance on their own. When done today, one can’t help but think it’s a desperate attempt to recapture some sort of magic or feeling that flew out the window long ago — along with the idea of “rivalry.”

It’s as if Adam Silver knows his brand of the sport has turned off far too many old-school fans to the point that incremental motivation is needed to appeal.

It’s not that New York Knicks fans are against a Reggie Miller-infused storyline from time to time. This is especially true for the old heads who remember the Knicks-Pacers playoff battles in the ’90s.

What NBC needs to realize is that pushing old-school names into the heart of the actual game to this degree only makes things worse. If the NBA truly wants to recapture some of its diehard fans from yesteryear, it’ll focus first on tweaking the rules of the sport.

Call me crazy, but I’d think that, ya know, calling a travel when a guy takes five steps without dribbling would be a start.