“Inside the NBA” 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 “Inside the NBA” serve as a lead-in to coverage.

Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals represented a low point for the NBA on television. And in many ways, Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals felt like a renaissance. Years of discontent with increasingly moribund production culminated in widespread disappointment during last year’s opening game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers.