The Ariel Helwani Basketball Show

Bob Costas

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 For many sports fans in North America, one singular voice has dominated the sports broadcasting landscape over the last forty-plus years.

Celebrated for his unmatched abilities, spine-tingling calls, brutal honesty, and unwavering calmness in the most chaotic of moments, Bob Costas is the gold standard of sports broadcasting. And despite his decades of World Series, Super Bowl, and Olympics broadcasting experience, it's perhaps his coverage of the NBA in the 1990s that sports fans remember most fondly.

And on today's episode, Costas joins Ariel Helwani to look back on not just a period many consider to be the best era of NBA basketball, but also to reflect on a career that's spanned multiple sports, countless iconic moments, and generations past and present. Together, the two Syracuse alumni discuss:

  • Why we look back so fondly to the NBA on NBC era of the 1990s
  • His legendary call of the 1998 NBA Finals, an era-defining moment we often look back on when remembering the glory of Michael Jordan's Bulls
  • What it was like to relive the magic of the '90s by watching "The Last Dance" during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • His bone-chilling memories of broadcasting during the NBA Finals on June 17, 1994 -- the day of the infamous O.J. Simpson chase -- and what he would do differently if he could do that day all over again
  • Hosting NBC's coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympics and his favorite memories of "The Dream Team"
  • His relationship with the late NBA commissioner David Stern and whether Stern ever reprimanded him for his tough line of questioning in their conversations
  • The current state of NBA broadcasting

    • Plus, Costas tells us whether he has any interest in covering the NBA ever again.

    Bob Costas is a titan of American sports broadcasting. From 1980-2019, he worked for NBC Sports, where he covered the NBA, MLB, and NFL. In addition, he hosted NBC's coverage of 12 Olympic Games. The 2018 winner of the Ford C. Frick Award for MLB broadcasting, Costas is also a 28-time Emmy Award winner. We could go on about his endless accolades, but you get the point.

    Audio clips courtesy of NBC Sports.

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    The Ariel Helwani Basketball ShowBy Showtime Basketball, Showtime
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