When the Indiana Pacers defeated the New York Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday, they didn’t just end a playoff series. They also ended TNT’s 36-year run as an NBA broadcasting partner.
It was a somber affair afterward, with everyone from announcer Kevin Harlan to Inside the NBA host Ernie Johnson offering heartfelt thoughts and sharing memories of that decades-long run. It was a great reminde that TNT’s NBA coverage went far beyond it’s signature show, though that will be the one thing that lives on, albeit on a different network.
The story of how TNT’s time as an NBA broadcaster came to an end is a wild one, full of incendiary comments, legal threats, and public takedowns. However,…