By all accounts, ESPN’s presentation of the NBA Finals on ABC were vastly improved over previous years.
Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks featured some vintage NBA Finals trademarks that were restored after years of moribund showcases. ESPN showed fans the national anthem and introduction of starting lineups to help build the hype and set the scene in San Antonio. The Larry O’Brien trophy and NBA Finals script were restored to the court. There weren’t dozens of YouTube TV logos plastered everywhere all over the screen. And instead of giving their halftime show just a few seconds between insane commercial loads, the Inside the NBA crew actually had the chance to talk.
But it wasn’t perfect.
During the second half, keen-eyed observers caught something weird as ESPN was cutting to commercial break. The network featured a bizarre AI version of former Spurs star and multi-time NBA champion Tony Parker smiling and waving his finger up and down.
— welovesports40 (@welovesports40) June 4, 2026
AI has been the scourge of modern American society as it threatens to upend our way of life, take away millions of jobs, and potentially even destroy the world as we know it. But when it’s used in the sports world, it just comes off as… kind of lame? It’s not just when it’s applied to sportswriting and fills reports with tons of errors. It’s turning moments that were earned and felt real (because they actually were) into something cartoonish.
Could ESPN really not find a genuine shot of Tony Parker as they cut to an ad break? Just had to use AI https://t.co/vMmMDmaUsu pic.twitter.com/Rkeysf9h3J
— Jon Healy (@JonHealy) June 4, 2026
AI sucks. This isn’t Tony Parker. Do better. Gross. pic.twitter.com/ZeqONiEI6t
— Jeff Dubrof (@JeffDubrofTV) June 4, 2026
Did ESPN just use an AI version of Tony Parker in that cut to commercial?
— Ryan Clarke (@RyanTClarke) June 4, 2026
does ESPN know Tony Parker has 4 rings in real life and they don’t need to use AI 😂 https://t.co/IyWEfikieT
— Old NBA Tweets (@oldnbatweetz) June 4, 2026
ESPN has thousands of photos and videos of Tony Parker at their disposal. Why turn what was something that was real into something that looks so obviously fake and doesn’t even look like him? Just so his finger can wave for some reason? The real photo is just fine and good enough. Why not just use it?
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