2023 NBA Finals on ABC Presented by YouTube TV: Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat/Boston Celtics Winner Starts June 1

For the 21st consecutive season, ABC will exclusively broadcast the NBA Finals Presented By YouTube TV, beginning Thursday, June 1, @ 8:30PM ET. In the 2023 NBA Finals, the Denver Nuggets and two-time NBA M.V.P. Nikola Jokic will square off with either the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler or the Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum. Game 7 between the Heat and Celtics is Monday, May 29, @ 8:30PM on ESPN Radio. The event marks the first time the Denver Nuggets have competed in the NBA Finals. The NBA Finals on ABC schedule is below.

New this season, weeknight NBA Finals game broadcasts will begin @ 8:30PM ET, while Sunday games will air @ 8PM NBA Countdown, ESPN and ABC’s NBA pregame show, will precede each game on ABC with a 30-minute pregame show, starting @ 8PM on weeknights and 7:30PM on Sundays.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Breen will serve as the voice of the NBA Finals, alongside analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson with Lisa Salters reporting. Breen and Salters were among the winners at the 2023 Sports Emmy Awards.

Updated NBA Finals commentator milestones:

Mike Breen will call his 18th NBA Finals, the most for a play-by-play commentator;

Jeff Van Gundy will call his 17th as an analyst, the most for an analyst;

Mark Jackson will call his 15th as an analyst, the most for a Black game analyst in any major sports championship event.

Production and innovation:

Custom broadcast open featuring recording artist H.E.R.’s track “The Journey”;

Three-point shot distance tracker;

55 total cameras;

15 high frame rate Super Slo Mo Cameras;

1 RF Shallow Depth of Field Mirrorless Gimbal Steadi Camera;

1 1080P Skycam;

1 4K UHFR (Ultra High Frame Rate) Camera with Super 35 CMOS Sensor paired with the new DUVO Cinema Box lens with PL mount;

Multiple virtual overlay cameras, including Skycam and RF Camera;

New enhanced cameras with Augmented Reality Graphics and trackmen optical tracking;

Live drone coverage, including with virtual overlay;

Realtime live shot distance display using NBA provided shot distance data combined with game camera pan head and lens tracking data.

Tim Corrigan, ESPN Vice President of Production, will continue to lead game production for the NBA Finals on ABC. Corrigan has been a part of all 21 of ESPN’s NBA Finals on ABC productions.

2023 NBA Finals game schedule:

Date Time (ET) Game Platform(s)

Thu, June 1 8:30PM Game 1: Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat/Boston Celtics ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN App, ESPN Deportes

Sun, June 4 8PM Game 2: Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat/Boston Celtics ABC, ESPN Radio, ESPN App, ESPN Deportes

Wed, June 7 8:30PM Game 3: Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat/Boston Celtics ABC, ESPN Radio, ESPN App, ESPN Deportes

Fri, June 9 8:30PM Game 4: Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat/Boston Celtics ABC, ESPN Radio, ESPN App, ESPN Deportes

Mon, June 12 8:30PM Game 5*: Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat/Boston Celtics ABC, ESPN Radio, ESPN App, ESPN Deportes

Thu, June 15 8:30PM Game 6*: Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat/Boston Celtics ABC, ESPN Radio, ESPN App, ESPN Deportes

Sun, June 18 8PM Game 7*: Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat/Boston Celtics ABC, ESPN Radio, ESPN App, ESPN Deportes

*If necessary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHe58591ad8

NBA Countdown Presented By DoorDash will hit the road for shows preceding all NBA Finals games. Mike Greenberg hosts NBA Countdown with analysts Stephen A. Smith and Jalen Rose, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Wilbon and Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski. This is the second NBA Finals for this pregame and halftime team.

For the first time, NBA in Stephen A’s World Presented By YouTube TV, ESPN’s recurring NBA alternate presentation starring Stephen A. Smith, will air during the NBA Finals. The NBA in Stephen A’s World will accompany the traditional game broadcast for Game 1 on Thursday, June 1, @ 8:30PM on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The guest list for the Game 1 edition will be announced the day of the game.

ESPN Radio will nationally broadcast the 2023 NBA Finals over the airwaves, with audio available to stream on the ESPN App. Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame analyst Doris Burke will call her fourth NBA Finals. In 2020, Burke became the first woman to serve as NBA Finals game analyst on any platform. P.J. Carlesimo will also serve as analyst for the series. Marc Kestecher will return as the voice of the NBA Finals on ESPN Radio with Rosalyn Gold-Onwude reporting.

NBA Today, ESPN’s weekday afternoon NBA studio show, will travel to the NBA Finals, with shows emanating live from site at 3PM ESPN NBA reporter and host Malika Andrews leads coverage of NBA Today from site with analysts Richard Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins and Chiney Ogwumike, Senior Writers Zach Lowe, Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst and Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski making appearances. NBA Today at the NBA Finals will feature special guest appearances and interviews.

Hoop Streams, ESPN’s NBA digital pregame show, will precede every NBA Finals game 30 minutes prior to tipoff. ESPN host and reporter Cassidy Hubbarth leads coverage of Hoop Streams with Gary Striewski and Christine Williamson. Hoop Streams is available on the ESPN App, as well as ESPN’s Twitter, YouTube and Facebook platforms.

SportsCenter, ESPN’s flagship news and information show, will continue its daily documentation of the NBA. ESPN NBA analysts Tim Legler and Monica McNutt will appear on SportsCenter and other ESPN programming, including Get Up and First Take, during the NBA Finals.

ESPN.com will provide comprehensive NBA Finals coverage through its deep roster of reporters, including Tim Bontemps, Nick Friedell and Zach Lowe. On June 1, the day of Game 1, ESPN.com will have a piece exploring the turning point in Nikola Jokic’s professional career.

The 2023 NBA Playoffs on ESPN platforms has averaged 5,579,000 viewers through 31 games, up nine percent from 2022. It is the most-watched NBA Playoffs on ESPN platforms since 2012, according to Nielsen.