Friday night’s preseason game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers, which aired nationally on NBA TV was interrupted by a commercial — which aired in the middle of the game.
Announcers Bill Macdonald and Stu Lantz (whose Spectrum SportsNet broadcast was picked up on NBA TV) were discussing how Lakers star LeBron James will share the court with his son, Bronny James, in the upcoming season. But as the game was going on, it was suddenly time to pay the bills.
And to be clear, this was not a split-screen commercial, which NBA broadcasts will often air during short time-outs of even free throws. The game was taken completely off the screen for a Dr. Squatch commercial starring actress Sydney Sweeney. Or, as she was called in the commercial, Sydney Sweeney Body Wash Genie.
Come for the basketball, stay for the Sydney Sweeney commercial…
Airing right in the middle of the game.
A true “It’s preseason for everyone” moment.
[H/T @cjzero]pic.twitter.com/xa2EMx5gIQ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 5, 2024
The full commercial ran before coverage of the game picked back up.
Viewers didn’t miss much. It was an 8-5 game when the commercial began and no scoring took place during the ad. Viewers did miss both teams missing a shot, as well as Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert being fouled. When the broadcast resumed, Gobert was on the line, shooting free throws — which he missed.
If there’s ever a good time for this to happen, it’s here. For starters, it’s a preseason game. Also, even in the regular season or playoffs, with the number of points scored in most basketball games, missing 30 seconds of game time in the first quarter is rarely going to be that big of a deal. We’ve certainly seen worse examples during the college football season, with game broadcasts cutting away to commercials or the news.
Still, any networks covering the NBA – or any sport – would do well to use this as a cautionary tale.
[Photo Credit: Spectrum SportsNet LA/NBA TV]
About Michael Dixon
About Michael:
-- Writer/editor for thecomeback.com and awfulannouncing.com.
-- Bay Area born and raised, currently living in the Indianapolis area.
-- Twitter:
@mfdixon1985 (personal).
@michaeldixonsports (work).
-- Email: mdixon@thecomeback.com
Send tips, corrections, comments and (respectful) disagreements to that email. Do the same with pizza recommendations, taco recommendations and Seinfeld quotes.