NBC made its Sunday Night Basketball debut for an NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks, and the special night for the network featured the on-site return of Bob Costas.
The legendary NBA on NBC announcer brought back his signature opens to NBA broadcasts in October, but that featured him only narrating a collection of highlights ahead of games.
On Sunday night, Costas narrated the ’90s-esque open into the iconic sounds of “Roundball Rock” on NBC, and he followed that up by also being on-court at Madison Square Garden before the Knicks-Lakers game on Basketball Night in America.
Bob Costas gets things started for NBC’s “Sunday Night Basketball” debut 🏀 🦚 🎵 pic.twitter.com/YjDFh6HoI1
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 1, 2026
“And as I was saying back in 2002, welcome to the NBA on NBC,” Costas said into the camera. “That’s right. Prior to this season, the last time the NBA was on NBC, Shaq, Kobe, and the Lakers were finishing off a sweep of the Nets to complete a three-peat. I hosted it, and the great Marv Albert called it.”
“As you may already have noticed, on occasion this season, we’ll remind you of NBC’s history with the league, including the return of John Tesh’s ‘Roundball Rock’, Mike Tirico’s conversation with Michael Jordan, and now and then, a flashback to some of the unforgettable moments from the ’90s and early 2000s,” Costas continued. “But for the most part, the focus is on a new generation of teams, and a new generation of stars, presented by a new generation of broadcasters. Beginning tonight with the host of Sunday Night Basketball, Maria Taylor.”
“Thanks, Bob,” Maria Taylor responded. “That’s the man, the myth, the legend. The voice of 10 NBA Finals. And not only that, he called Jordan’s last shot in ’98.”
And speaking of that Jordan shot, here’s what it looked like when Costas narrated the open for Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals and followed with his monologue on NBC.
Costas brought a strong rush of nostalgia on Sunday night to NBA fans who watched such NBC intros in the 1990s and early 2000s.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.