On Wednesday, ESPN announced a welcome change to the NBA Finals on ABC this June.
Per a release from the company, weeknight NBA Finals games will start at 8:30 PM ET as opposed to 9 PM ET. The weekend games (Games 2 and a potential Game 7) will retain their 8 PM ET start time.
Each game will also have a half hour edition of NBA Countdown on ABC prior to the tip.
Here’s the full schedule for the seven games.
- Game 1: Thursday, June 1st, 8:30 PM ET
- Game 2: Sunday, June 4th, 8 PM ET
- Game 3: Wednesday, June 7th, 8:30 PM ET
- Game 4: Friday, June 9th, 8:30 PM ET
- Game 5: Monday, June 12th, 8:30 PM ET
- Game 6: Thursday, June 15th, 8:30 PM ET
- Game 7: Sunday, June 18th, 8 PM ET
Last year, Jason Clinkscales wrote an article for AA discussing the late start times for the NBA Finals and how there’s no excuse for starting that late after watching the NHL Stanley Cup Final start earlier in the evening. A half hour isn’t a massive shift, but for a lot of people, it will be enough.
[ESPN]
